Cavaliers 114, Wizards 105
Q. Jordan, thinking about the last week or so for you, what does it mean to you to have this performance, given some of the ups and downs of the last week?
JORDAN POOLE: Great game. Wish we could have pulled it out. We've got another one in a couple days.
Q. How would you describe when you had I think it was 11 points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, just the kind of rhythm you were in tonight?
JORDAN POOLE: Yeah, I was on ball. My teammates were looking for me to get out in transition. I think that's a strength of mine. I haven't had many opportunities like that all season. To get out in transition when the defense isn't set, create for my teammates but also be aggressive in transition, those are easy looks for me, whether they're transition pull-up threes or attacking while the defense isn't set.
It kind of got us going, and it gave us a little bit of a push. Just got to find ways to continue to emulate that and try to make the most of the opportunity.
Q. After the floater I saw you interacting with the fans after the whistle. What was that like, having the crowd cheer for you tonight as you were playing well?
JORDAN POOLE: I really want to go and play well each and every night for the fans. It's been a season, but it's going to come. It's going to come. When it does come, I'd better see everybody in there standing up.
Q. What did you feel like you did well tonight that helped spark you to be so successful?
JORDAN POOLE: I just think the opportunities on ball. Just being able to play with whatever unit I'm in, primary, we just play faster. We get out in space more. Whether that's with Landry out there -- I was with Landry tonight. Bilal got hurt early, but I run really well with Bilal, getting him out in transition, trying to get him easy lay-ups.
But something that's big personally for my game and I think that helps our team is when I'm able to get out in transition with the defense not being set. It gets guys catch-and-shoot opportunities. I think J.B. had an opportunity in the corner that he could have got a shot up.
I play really well with Richaun in transition because he's a really good screen setter. He can get out and get his mid-range floater pop area.
We have a really fast pace for our team this year, but I think when I'm in, we're able to kind of kick it up a little bit earlier. Me and Corey have a really nice synergy that we have when we're out there on the court. Hopefully he gets better and Bilal gets better.
Being able to get out in transition is huge for me personally and for the team, and just got to find opportunities to do that.
Q. Do you know what the dangers are of elevating for a basket and getting undercut and landing. Of all the falls to the court that you've seen, how scary was the one that Bilal had and was able to walk off?
JORDAN POOLE: Well, first of all, I'm glad he's okay. 50/50. The fall was pretty tough. It's a part of the game. Luckily he fell on his back as opposed to any higher part of his body.
In hindsight, I think we all love how aggressive he is and how he's come into his own, just knowing how athletic he is. Not many guys are going to take a charge like that underneath. I think it was Max Strus who might have drew the foul charge, but not all guys are going to slide over, and normally that's an opportunity for a guy like Bilal to get a pretty high-level dunk or to make a play.
Q. With Bilal and Corey and Deni all out this game, did you feel more of an obligation to step up and kind of handle the scoring capabilities for the team?
JORDAN POOLE: No, that's what I do normally. It's just a matter of what position I'm put in. Those three guys are key to our team, and they've been playing really good all season, and they help us.
But just continuing to find ways to try to keep everybody engaged, playing to their strengths.
Q. In that fourth quarter, 94-all, and then they go on that run, what did you see as some of the breakdowns in that stretch that they had?
JORDAN POOLE: Well, they're a really good team. They're second in the East right now. They play really well together. Down the stretch, they just made a couple plays. They took a couple tough calls that sent them to the line.
But we battled, we fought all night. That's a credit to our guys. I think we're learning. We're using this as experience to figure out how to close games, what we need to get to at the end of games. They switched up their coverages a little bit later in the fourth. I want to say the last seven minutes.
But we're learning. They did a really good job of just knocking down shots, getting to the free-throw line. We had a couple good opportunities that we just missed. Learn from it and apply it to the next game.
Q. Three straight games in the rotation for Johnny Davis. Tonight he's being trusted to guard Donovan Mitchell. What do you think about the way he's playing right now?
JORDAN POOLE: Yeah, fellow Wisconsin guy, Johnny. Big fan. He's huge. The minutes that he got, he stepped up. He's a willing defender, physical, he goes to get boards, and he plays the right way.
A lot of Wisconsin guys are kind of just taught to swing it in transition, catch and shoot, attack and drive when you can. Just seeing him get out there and have the impactful minutes that he had, how he did for us tonight and the last couple games, I think that's huge for him personally and good for our team, as well as Pat Bollinger.
Q. From a scoring perspective, Corey has mentioned the importance of making the first one and how that can help the positivity or the mentality going forward throughout the game. You made your first three tonight. Do you feel like that's something that helps your mentality throughout the game, or is it every shot is different from the next?
JORDAN POOLE: A little bit of both. Of course you want the first one to go down. It helps to see shots go in early.
But you also don't want to dwell on it too much. You want to just go to the next shot, get the next opportunity, stay focused on whatever opportunity or shot comes next.
But being a shooter, especially for a guy like Corey or Landry, it's huge. Also just because they really space the floor, they can get hot really quick. If we can find ways to just capitalize early, it helps throughout the course of the game, but also not to shy away from shooting the ball and continuing to be aggressive.
Q. Despite the loss, do you think a performance like this can help you reestablish your rhythm?
JORDAN POOLE: I mean, I would think so. I think it's just a matter of figuring out ways to be on ball and be more aggressive. I feel like that's where I thrive the most. Earlier in the season, kind of first half, I've been playing off ball, not really my position, just trying to find ways to adjust to that, being a team player, whether that's making the right way, trying to cover up for people on defense or trying to get out in transition.
I think I know where my strengths are. Shout-out to BK for kind of helping me and putting me in that position to be on ball, and just finding ways to continue to keep going. It really just takes one shot or one look for me personally to catch a rhythm. We've got a game in a couple days.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports