Pelicans 142, Wizards 122
Q. Why do you think things flipped there in the second quarter?
WES UNSELD JR.: I think a handful of turnovers bothered us, and they got going from three a little bit, a total of 15 for I think 27 points. A lot of those were small space turnovers, trying to play through things and play through crowds. That's a thing we harped on this morning. It's a strength of that team. They're long. They're athletic. They do a great job getting deflections, turning teams over. We fell into that a little bit.
Had some good stretches, but not able to sustain it for a substantial amount of time.
Q. What made Ingram so tough tonight?
WES UNSELD JR.: He's tough every night. Like I said, his length and size, it's a matchup problem, even when I thought we had really good defensive possessions, he made some tough contested shots over high hands. You can live with some of that.
Their bench, I think, was the difference for them tonight.
Q. Was that your first tech?
WES UNSELD JR.: No, it's not my first tech.
Q. Here?
WES UNSELD JR.: Yes, first one here.
Q. You've been talking about getting to the foul line and lack of calls and that kind of frustration mounting from you --
WES UNSELD JR.: It's not frustration, it's just I think something we talked about. I think our guys are aware. We don't play for fouls. I think play through the contact, be aggressive. It's just more a show of support for the guys who are trying to do the right thing and play the right way.
Q. That effect that can have a team on players, on assistant coaches, that has to have a positive edge, as well?
WES UNSELD JR.: At times, yeah. You never want to give up free points, but I think it's sometimes necessary.
Q. What's your take on how well Bilal is choosing his shots from three-point range and his success there? That was not something he was billed as being ready to do much yet coming out of France.
WES UNSELD JR.: No, I think it's something that he's worked on quite a bit. I think he also knows to get to the right spot. He finds those corners and feels very comfortable there, and I think guys who make those plays and deliver the ball to him, he stays shot ready, that's a good shot for us, and it's something we prioritize to be down and ready, don't hesitate. I think at sometimes, the other night in Philly, he hesitated a bit, but to see him just let it fly, find a rhythm, I think that's positive.
Q. Deni has played his heart out, averaging career numbers. What has impressed you about his growth this season?
WES UNSELD JR.: He's shown tremendous growth in his poise. I thought at times in the past he'd get sped up a bit. He's doing a much better job of being under control while still being able to play downhill, play with force, make plays in the paint, score, finish through contact, get to the free-throw line. Those are added layers.
I think he's shown more consistency with his three-ball. I think that opens the floor for him.
Q. The run early in the game, started off 18-4, is that the kind of free-flowing motion that you guys are looking for offensively, and what do you have to continue to do to keep that going?
WES UNSELD JR.: Well, I think we got a little lucky there in that first quarter. They missed four or five lay-ups, shots that they probably wouldn't ordinarily do. But to your point about the tempo, that's going to be a strength of ours, and it has been all season.
I think we're still top two or three in overall pace, but we get stops, we have the ability to get out and run, it's one of our strengths. We're up there, I think, top 5 in fast break points. We know the quicker we can initiate offense, kick that ball ahead and put as much pressure on the defense early in the possession, it's good for us. If we walk it up and play through static set defense it oftentimes drags us down and slows us a bit, so we want to get out and run when possible.
Q. Bilal played almost 32 minutes tonight. What do you expect from him this season?
WES UNSELD JR.: Keep pushing. I think every couple weeks we see more and more, and he shows us more. He's done a terrific job of the mental side of the game, keeping himself prepared, learning scouting reports, understanding the personnel, understanding his assignments.
For a young player to really dive into that, it's remarkable, and to his credit, it's helped him. I think that's helped him prepare to go out and guard certain guys like Ingram. We've thrown him on just about everybody, and that's at times trial by fire, but it's the best way to learn.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports