Wizards 126, Pistons 107
Q. I wanted to ask about the defense. What did you like most about that?
WES UNSELD JR.: I thought we were well-connected defensively. We've been preaching being in the right spot at the right time, and we've shown it for certain stretches, but this was probably by far the most we've seen our guys really kind of lean in on that, and it really helped us just taking away some of the pain. Obviously the transition is one issue, but I thought we were really connected defensively being in the right spot, stunting, showing crowds, and that helped us offensively by giving us opportunities to run out.
Q. Is that just things clicking and everybody being on the same page, or is it a little bit of a mindset?
WES UNSELD JR.: I hope it's a mindset, that this is what we're capable of, and we can do it, just have to do it for longer stretches. We did that tonight, particularly in that second half I thought we did a great job of really minimizing some of the looks Detroit was trying to get to and keeping bodies in front of the ball.
Q. You came out a little bit slow in those first couple of initial minutes, took a quick time-out, had a run to get back in it, had another run to take the lead. What did you say at that moment --
WES UNSELD JR.: I think the guys know. We've been in situations where we've played well and we've had some stretches to allow a team to chip into the lead or potentially give up a lead, and to their credit, I think they still played with a level of purpose. I thought the level of physicality was great. Gave up a couple offensive rebounds, but minimized the second-chance points. Those areas I think at times have hurt us, so I thought we did a lot of good things tonight.
Q. Another big night in this building by Kuzma. How much does he like playing here, and from your perspective what was clicking for him tonight?
WES UNSELD JR.: I thought his level of aggression was great, but it was purpose. I thought he just took what the defense gave him. Once he gets going, he's very capable of having big nights, but he didn't force or hunt shots. He stayed aggressive, played downhill, got to the line, which really helped us in our defense.
Q. How was Jordan feeling?
WES UNSELD JR.: He was fine. I thought that group was playing so well, Jordan did a lot of good things early in the game, and in the second half I stayed with the group that had kind of pushed the lead out, and I think it's a credit to some of those guys who come off the bench and have done good things for us. Just watching him, he's engaged in time-outs, he's engaged with his teammates as we made a run, so that's a positive thing.
Q. A win is always important, but just to break that streak, get back in the win column, how big is that for you guys mentally?
WES UNSELD JR.: Yeah, it's great. We approach each game with the mindset that we want to win, and the way we prepare, the way our guys attack shootarounds and the pregame, so to get the benefit of a win, play certainly the way we envision ourselves playing, that's a positive. That's one of those steps we hope to take and continue to use that momentum to build.
Q. 28 free throws; is that part of that aggression that you were talking about?
WES UNSELD JR.: Yeah, to a certain extent. I think it's a good sign that we can play downhill. All season we've been high in rim attempts, points in the paint, and we got the benefit of the whistle tonight, which was great. Our guys were playing the right way and trying to generate the shots that we want to prioritize. The fact that we were capable of doing that and getting to the line is certainly a benefit.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports