Washington Wizards Media Conference

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Washington, DC, USA

Brian Keefe

Media Conference


Warriors 123, Wizards 112

Q. What went wrong in the third quarter?

BRIAN KEEFE: I thought we played in crowds. We didn't kick the ball out when we were getting penetration in the paint, and that just led to turnovers. You turn the ball over against them, that's death. They got going with their pace, with their threes in transition. I think that was really the story of the game was that third quarter.

Q. Turnovers were an issue kind of all game. Was it just the way they capitalized on them in the third quarter?

BRIAN KEEFE: For sure. They turned those into quick baskets on the other end. The pace got going. We didn't get great shots even when we got shots at the basket, and they got open threes.

Q. Obviously it's not normal to have your second unit play against somebody like Klay Thompson, but the bench was lopsided tonight in terms of scores. What did you see specifically from the second unit's defense?

BRIAN KEEFE: I didn't really have a problem with what our second unit was doing defensively. It was more what bled from the offense. A lot of that stuff just got -- the game got going up and down because of some of our poor shot selection and our turnovers, and I don't have anything to say about the guys who were on the court, that they were messing up coverages. I think the game just got a little bit out of hand, those guys got hot, and those guys are capable of that.

But when we settled it down in the fourth quarter, we basically almost -- we won half the quarters, but we made a run because we started sharing the ball in the fourth.

Q. You mentioned playing in crowds. You guys are generally pretty good at looking for those kick-out passes. Was it something their defense was doing, or were you guys just kind of rushed the way the game was going?

BRIAN KEEFE: I think it's always a little bit of both. They've been known to be a great defensive team who's very active. I think we just didn't make the right pass at the right time. We just held it for a little bit too long.

Then when we really did move it, we ended up having 34 assists. I know Tyus, I think that's probably a career high maybe. We had 34 assists. We probably should have had in the 40s if we just could have delivered the ball a little quicker.

Q. Speaking of the first half, do you feel like you had a missed opportunity in that Steph was pretty off in that first half, just to kind of gain some momentum? After the first half it was 60-58; do you feel like you had some missed opportunities in that first half?

BRIAN KEEFE: We turned the ball over a little bit in the second. Also I thought we came out great in the first. Limited them in transition. That was our big key tonight was to try to keep them out of transition. The turnovers obviously led to that.

You know he's going to make shots at some point. You know that's going to happen. You're never going to count on -- I think he was 0 for 6 from three in the first. That's not something you're going to count on that that's going to sustain. Obviously he hit four in the second half.

It was about sticking with the game plan. Like I said, the turnovers was the big issue.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
141270-1-1002 2024-02-28 02:36:00 GMT

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