Magic 119, Wizards 109
Q. Starting five, how did that feel?
KYLE KUZMA: I mean, it felt fine. Yeah, it felt fine. The league doesn't have crazy bruisers. Sometimes we can play small. It felt solid.
Q. What do you think changed in the second half, especially in the third quarter? Was it just not knocking down shots for the whole team, increased physicality from Orlando?
KYLE KUZMA: I mean, Orlando increased their physicality, but a lot of it just boils down to just our inability to guard and switch in the fourth. Credit to them; they made a lot of tough shots, whether it was Suggs hitting some big shots, timely shots, Cole Anthony playing in a short role at the end of the game, making us play in rotations. It was tough.
Q. From Johnny have you noticed any increase in confidence? He looks a little bit more fluid on both ends of the floor.
KYLE KUZMA: Yeah, he hit the one three the other night, and that probably gave him a little bit of confidence, and he came in tonight, played with a little edge. So yeah.
Q. What would you like to see from him going forward in terms of what aspects of his game he can progress at, just creating his own shot or getting downhill?
KYLE KUZMA: Playing defense. Playing defense at a high level.
Q. Justin Champagnie, have you gotten to know him and his game at all? What do you like to see from him? How can he contribute to the team?
KYLE KUZMA: I mean, I'm not sure. I know that he can really shoot it. I know that he's a competitor. We'll probably see him on the court very soon.
Q. I wonder if you saw any differences between the end of the Jazz game and tonight.
KYLE KUZMA: I mean, kind of. It's not even about the offense. It was just really about our inability just to guard the ball, switch out and play bodies on bodies. They did a great job of playing in rotations, making us play in rotations, and they hit tough shots.
Q. The Magic are a young team that has made a big leap on the defensive end. What do you think has led to that, and how can you guys apply that to yourselves? What can you learn from it?
KYLE KUZMA: I mean, when you play defense, you have a chance to win games. They weren't winning games for a couple years, and they just started playing defense, and they started winning games. How do you do that? You've got to want to play defense and want to play team defense. That's what we have to learn, and that's what we have to get to if we want to not be this type of ballclub.
Q. What do you think Bilal needs to do to finish this season strong after the year that he's had so far?
KYLE KUZMA: I mean, he's got to be confident. That's the biggest thing. It doesn't matter if he shoots 2 for 10, 2 for 12. It doesn't matter. We need him to be confident because he's the future, and he's got it in him, and he's got a lot of talent in him.
But I think in this league, confidence is just about above everything. That's what he has to find within himself, and I have confidence in him.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports