Wizards 110, Nets 104
Q. What was your approach to the rotations in the second half?
WES UNSELD JR.: I just felt that group got going, and you just ride it. They had really good momentum, good tempo. I thought they were defending at a high rate. You go to a group and they respond a certain way, you just go with it, keep it. They did a perfect job.
Q. What was the key to overcoming the free throw disparity, the rebounding, the second-chance points? How were you guys able to overcome that?
WES UNSELD JR.: It helps to make some shots, but I thought we were locked in defensively. We were able to get stops when we needed them, and we made big plays offensively at certain points, not just individual plays but team plays where we executed well and got open looks and stepped up and made them.
Q. You talked about Mike pregame. He was really good, Landry was really good, Delon was really good. Could you speak to the second and sometimes third unit stepping up tonight?
WES UNSELD JR.: For sure. Mike hasn't played a ton. He played 21 straight minutes, and to his credit, that's a guy who stays ready. That's a tall ask of anybody, not just to be able to compete at that level but to make impactful plays. He was around the rim and using a little verticality and trying to put himself in position to impact the play and throw in a couple threes tonight, and it does change the complexion of the game.
Q. Deni was active in a lot of different elements. What did you like from him?
WES UNSELD JR.: I thought Deni played a complete game. I thought slow to start a little bit on the defensive end and picked up for sure, but offensively his thrust and pace downhill, hit with his catch and go, his cutting, pushing in transition, and he was also able to just find and create action once we kind of stagnated a little bit. He as well as Corey did a terrific job of doing that, which opened up the floor once again for us to get downhill and find the three.
Q. You guys deployed a couple of different looks defensively in the fourth. You went 2-3 and then you boxed and one with Bilal --
WES UNSELD JR.: You can't give everything away.
Q. What did those looks do for you and how does that speak to the trust that you have in Bilal at this point in his career?
WES UNSELD JR.: Well, I think he's seen enough at this point 31 games in, and we've seen enough in him. He had a big play in Portland where end of the game we put him on Grant to guard him one-on-one. He's going to find himself in those situations game after game after game, and whether it goes well or not, those are learning experiences. He's going to be better for it the next time.
Thus far, he's performed remarkably. I have more than enough comfort in putting him in those situations, and it's tough because we're asking him to do a lot. But he tends to do the right thing and be in the right spot, so to his credit, he's performed well.
Q. One of the better Friday night atmospheres here that we've had this season. How did that help the guys in the fourth quarter with the stretches defensively that you guys had?
WES UNSELD JR.: I think we saw it a little bit a few games ago, just that home crowd, that momentum. You can feel the energy. It's palpable, and I think the guys feed off that.
It does feel like you have a home-court advantage, so that's encouraging to see that fans are still engaged and connected, and of course we want to continue to try and put some wins on the board to try and keep them going.
Q. With about five and a half minutes left, Kuz checked in, and at that point the game was pretty much still back and forth. He scored nine minutes into a two-minute stretch. What did you see from him in those closing minutes and what did you like from him?
WES UNSELD JR.: Well, I'll give him credit in the closing stretch there. We tried to match up on him a little bit, and he was able to take advantage of it. I thought we were disciplined with the execution and our spacing which allows him to play, and obviously he stepped up, made big plays for us.
But I think just all game. He didn't score necessarily in that rate throughout the game, but he played the right way. I thought he tried to find the right shots, get his treatments involved, and he had some really good possessions defensively.
Q. Is there an update on Daniel Gafford's status?
WES UNSELD JR.: As far as?
Q. Because he was out there -- he went to the locker room briefly at the end of the first half --
WES UNSELD JR.: Yeah, I think just the foul trouble, and I think he just wanted to take a breath and come back.
Q. What does it say about this team that they were able to gut out a win by six points despite only taking a single digit number of free throws compared to in the 20s for Brooklyn?
WES UNSELD JR.: Yeah, I think you're going to have some nights like that where whether you get the benefit of the whistle or there's a disparity, you can do other things. I think we can anchor ourselves in the defense a little bit. Even the second-chance points was an issue a little bit tonight.
It wasn't a perfect game, but I think when we had to get plays and make plays, we did.
Q. Tonight Kuz was awarded the NBA Cares award. How does it feel to have another -- this is the second person that you've coached that has received that award.
WES UNSELD JR.: Yeah, I think it's an honor to coach guys like that. It's high-character guys who understand this is bigger than basketball, that you can impact lives by playing a game and entertaining people. That's part of it. But to understand the nature of the platform they have and the importance of their voice, lending their voice to certain causes I think is important, things that they're passionate about and they care about, and they want to impact the communities that they not only work in but live in. He's done it time and time again, as have others, and a lot of those things kind of fly under the radar.
It's nice that he gets acknowledged on this scale, but that's certainly not why he does it. It's a credit to him and who he is as a man but also as a professional.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports