Hawks 136, Wizards 108
Q. What do you think made the difference for them in this one?
WES UNSELD JR.: Really that third quarter. They made a little bit of a run, I think, in the second, in the third quarter. That was two big things that stick out. The turnovers, offensive rebounds, those were two areas that I think really hurt us.
Tough shooting night, of course, but you can't give a really good offensive team second-chance points, and a lot of the turnovers I think were a little bit playing crowds, we got static at times, but minimizing those miscues would have helped.
Q. How did you think Bilal looked coming back from the injury?
WES UNSELD JR.: He looked well. I think he's got a tough cover out there trying to keep Trae Young in front. Did a decent job of not fouling, to his credit. So that's certainly a positive. It's just going to be a challenge for him nightly, different matchup, different guy, figuring how to impact the game and do so with a solid foundation.
Q. I know obviously progress is almost never linear, but different performances between last night and tonight. What was the message to the guys?
WES UNSELD JR.: Yeah, it's not ideal. I think we put a lot into last night. No excuse, the back-to-back, and got in pretty late, but that's life in the NBA. No second prize for that.
Obviously we want to come out and play with energy. I thought we were a little slow to start, picked up. But I give that group the last 12 minutes, that was a positive. Once again, those young guys came out ready to play. Mike, who hasn't played a ton, came out and impacted the game. Take that third quarter away, and it's not all that bad.
Q. When did you learn about Jordan's injury? What's the ankle situation?
WES UNSELD JR.: Yeah, I learned just prior to the game. I think he tweaked it during warmup today and then tried to go back and see if he could go, and he didn't feel comfortable. Unfortunate, of course, because he had a solid night last night. It does take a little bit of starch out of your group.
Q. With him off the court, do you think that played a role in the team's turnovers tonight?
WES UNSELD JR.: Not directly, no. I think some of those were preventible. I spoke pregame about that's the strength of that Hawks team, their ability to turn teams over and convert. They've got length. They're very active. Top 5 in steals. They did that to us tonight.
Q. Corey was really good last night from three, tonight 1 for 10. Was there a difference in the shots he was taking?
WES UNSELD JR.: Not in general. I mean, it's one of those nights. The fact he got 10 up -- of course you don't want to go 1 for 10, but that's kind of a barometer for him, the volume of him hunting those shots. Overall the shot selection was fine; maybe heavy legs, but I like the process and I love the fact that he was hunting those shots early.
Q. What do you think it's going to take for you to snap this losing skid you're in right now?
WES UNSELD JR.: I think a little bit of everything, a little bit of the details. Obviously we've got to play with the requisite energy we need, and we've done that. At certain times it's been against really good teams. We're just trying to stay in the moment, win the moment, win the quarter, give ourselves a chance to be in the game late.
Q. How do you think the guys are doing right now in terms of playing for one another?
WES UNSELD JR.: I think they've done a great job, honestly. It's not easy to be in the situation we're in, but every night you look at the box score, and we're high in assists. Obviously the turnovers were unfortunate, really hurt us tonight, but they still seemed to be moving the ball, trying to create action for each other, create open shots for each other, and that takes a level of discipline. But I think they're leaning into the group and they're continuing to stay connected.
To that, I'm proud of it. They're staying the course.
Q. Corey's shot didn't fall tonight the way it did last night. How do you think he's done attacking closeouts in those three-point situations?
WES UNSELD JR.: Very good, and I think that's part of his development. Teams are going to run him off the line, make him play inside the three, and he's done a much better job of getting to the rim, getting fouled, finishing through contact. That's another layer for him. Trying to find coverage solutions to create threes, but knowing the team is going to heat him up, take him off the line, what do you do next. So that's good to see.
Q. You mentioned the third quarter a couple times. Do you feel like the third quarter has been the achilles heel of the team this season?
WES UNSELD JR.: At times it has. But I wouldn't say that's the only issue. I think there's been some issues at times with transition defense, there's been some issues with defensive rebounding. So it's one of several, but I don't look at it as the lone thing.
Q. Is it discouraging at all coming off two really good performances, one-possession losses, to a different kind of loss tonight?
WES UNSELD JR.: The loss itself is discouraging, but I think where we were two weeks ago, how we've played compared to what we've done the last stretch of games, I think there are a lot of bright spots. Of course we didn't want the outcome to be what it was tonight, but we're going to have some shooting nights where the ball just doesn't go in. We can't worry about whether or not we make shots. Of course we want to defend at a high level, play the right way, continue to move and share the ball, but I don't think it detracts from where we're going.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports