Heat - 118, Wizards - 98
Q. Alex had a career high in points tonight. He looked a lot more aggressive going inside. Is that something you guys have talked to him about?
BRIAN KEEFE: His defense in the first half was great. First of all, I liked the four blocks. Great lessons for him tonight playing against a great player. Yes, he was aggressive offensively for sure, looking to attack the rim in transition and play-make and he hit some of his shots. Good overall effort from Alex tonight.
Q. What have you thought about him taking the ball up in transition the way he has the last couple of games?
BRIAN KEEFE: That's definitely something we want him to do. We want him to rebound and push. We think he's a really good playmaker. You saw some of that tonight. We've seen that in some prior games. We want him to keep exploring that because we think he can be a real threat pushing the ball in transition.
Q. You lose, but sometimes you look better at the court. What happened? What was the talk in the locker room in the middle of this game?
BRIAN KEEFE: The offensive rebounds were the one thing that really stood out. They hurt us on the boards. We obviously didn't shoot the ball well, but I thought our process was good. We just missed shots that we normally make.
But the biggest thing was they hurt us on the offensive glass. That was the biggest area that really tipped the game in their favor.
Q. What did you like about the way Alex was able to adapt in realtime with the scouting report, if you will, with the way he was guarding Bam, not settling and falling for those pump fakes every single time like we've seen him, as he's continued to grow?
BRIAN KEEFE: These are great experiences for our guys. Alex's first time playing against some of these guys in the league. Adebayo is a great player, guys with championship experience, been through a lot. He got Alex a few times, let's be honest.
Alex grew throughout the game, adjusted to it, became competitive, and I liked his force on the other end going back at him. So that was good growth by him tonight.
Q. I want to know about Kyle Kuzma. Is there any injury update? We saw him practicing yesterday. What was the main reason he didn't play today?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, he's out. He's got a strain right now. No timeline on him yet, but he has been back on the court rehabbing.
Q. Well, maybe not the result that you were expecting, but you mentioned that this was your first time in our country. What are you taking with you after tonight's game, and how to work on the mental part of this loss after the loss?
BRIAN KEEFE: Great question. The big thing is our mindset and how we're preparing every day. Learning process for us tonight. A team that plays super physical, I thought it affected us. But that's stuff you have to go through for our team and where we are. But I expect we'll handle it well and respond well.
I'd just like to thank everybody. Tremendous hospitality by all of you the last couple days. This is a tremendous experience for our team. Just want to thank the community, thank Mexico City. We really enjoyed it. A lot of gratitude. Thank you guys.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports