DENI AVDIJA: Hello, everybody, to the new guys, to the usuals.
Q. What was it like getting the win tonight and were you aware that you were so close to a franchise long losing streak?
DENI AVDIJA: Well, it's good I didn't know that we were close to the franchise one.
It feels good, man. I mean, we've been going through a lot this year. I can't tell you what it is to lose that many games. I never experienced that in my life. My first season doing that. It's definitely not fun.
Definitely can take the good out of it, like progress, learning, making mistakes and learning from them. But it's definitely not fun. I think we showed character today because at some point in the game I felt like we were breaking apart again, we were all letting go of the rope a little bit. I don't know, something changed.
Talked about it in the locker room. AG was big for us bringing his energy. Come into the game after sitting out most of it. I think that got us going a little bit. Richaun was great today, brought a lot of energy. We sealed the game in the fourth quarter with our defense.
Q. What was it like knowing Anthony to have the guy that turned things around like that?
DENI AVDIJA: Well, I don't want him to blush seeing this, but that guy was next to me from the moment I got drafted. He's the first player I saw in the elevator when I got to D.C. He's been through a lot. He hasn't played most of his time here, but he kept being positive, he kept working hard, kept being in the gym before everybody else.
It's easy to be, I'm not playing, I'm not going to do as much. But he had the effort and the mentality of a 40-minute player, 48-minute player. It's something that I learned about how to be a good person. He taught me a lot 'cause it's more than just being a player in this league.
I felt like he has the talent for sure to play everywhere he wants, but he treats the game of basketball, how he treats the people around him, is amazing. I never met a teammate that I had like that.
That's it. I was happy for him that he scored. Hopefully he'll contribute a little bit more. That's about it.
Q. What did you do differently on defense going into the fourth quarter?
DENI AVDIJA: I don't know. I think the pride kicked in. We were like, Man, we lost so much in a row. We're trying to get out of this slump. This is our chance right here. We knew that's our chance. We have tough games coming up. This game was close. It was down to the wire. I think everybody was, Okay, enough. We're going to step it up.
It showed the progress and it showed what we're capable of. Hopefully it's going to continue.
Q. You had seven points the first three quarters, then you have 11 in the fourth. Was that something that was talked about in that huddle or did it just click?
DENI AVDIJA: Personally I kept rebounding, kept trying to be in the game, but I was mentally... I'll be honest with you, mentally I was not there the first half. Even the beginning of the third quarter. Something was off. I was emotional. I was frustrated.
I picked myself up. It's part of my growth, part of my process. I kicked everything to the side. I was like, It's time to win the game, close game, try to do whatever I can to win the game.
I think I helped as much as I can. But everybody was so engaged in the fourth quarter, just trying to make good plays. Proud of everybody, for sure.
Q. Is that something that happened to you before where you're not there mentally and then you click it on?
DENI AVDIJA: Yes. No, actually no. You were in the right direction.
I definitely had those moments, I will disconnect from the whole game. I will take myself out of the game. I will probably finish the game with those seven points. Won't be focused on defense.
I think that's a good growth that I'm happy that I recognized it. It usually is not like that. The fact that I can step it up and be focused and be there for my team, it's a great step.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports