Mavericks 130, Wizards 117
KYLE KUZMA: ...do the things that were necessary to win the game tonight on that end of the floor, and then it hurt us.
Q. The team seemed to be making progress the prior four games. How does something change from what seems to be improving to drop back to where it was early in the season?
KYLE KUZMA: We've just got to figure -- we've got to keep playing. We've got to play hard. The coaches are harping that we're making improvements, but it's always tough to see that when you're not seeing the results at the end.
Just got to keep pushing, keep pushing.
Q. What did you think about Bilal and the time he spent guarding Luka?
KYLE KUZMA: I mean, he did a good job. I expect him to do a good job every night because he's capable.
Q. I think it's probably fair to say that Jordan isn't playing to the standards he wants. What do you say to him as someone who has dealt with being on a scouting report?
KYLE KUZMA: I mean, that's probably the toughest thing for him right now is just trying to deal with being in the scouting report. It's a challenge. It's a challenge, and I think I went through that a lot last year with trying to work through, okay, now everybody sees me as the top option.
I think that's a little bit what he's going through. Obviously being at Golden State, probably being that third or fourth option, you're probably seeing the third or fourth best defender.
For him, it's just a learning curve at the end of the day. He's a smart guy. He loves basketball. Really has a passion for it. When you have guys that have that passion, they'll figure it out. Just everybody runs a different race at different times. He'll figure it out.
Q. When you're also kind of trying to build up to being a leader of the team, how does the game affect that, when you're trying to figure out your game and you're focused on that?
KYLE KUZMA: Yeah, it's extremely tough. I can't necessarily talk because at the end of the day he's 24 and this is his first year doing these things. I was a little bit different coming here.
Last year was kind of more of a leadership role for me, and I'm a little bit older.
But it definitely is a challenge, and trying to figure out, okay, who am I, who do I want to be. Not that I have all this free reign, but I still have to lead and I still have to lead by example and I still have to hold myself accountable and watch my emotions and all that. That's a lot to go through as a 24 year old.
It's no pity because everybody -- you need to perform, right, because that's what we get paid for, top dollar, but it's progress. We stand behind him. It's okay.
Q. In terms of being higher on the scouting report, what helped you find a breakthrough for yourself?
KYLE KUZMA: For me, I'm just extremely focused on my improvement and extremely focused on what I can do well on the court. I try to play to my strengths as much as possible. I think coming here really allowed me to do that and really finding my downhill game and playing to my size and really being confident within that. That's really it for me.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports