Hawks 129, Wizards 117
BRIAN KEEFE: I thought we came out tremendous in the first quarter. That was one of our big things was we wanted to start off the game well, and we did. We came out and we punched first. Give them credit, they came out at the start of the second quarter and they started getting a little bit more physical and they made a good run, so credit to them. Always want to do that first.
We made a nice run at the end of the game, though, because these points do matter in these games, the point differential. Our guys made a great push at the end to try to cut that lead as much as we could.
Q. Why was it difficult for your team to beat back that physicality in the second quarter?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, I think the game is always interesting. The game is a game of force. We exerted our force on them in the first, and we were dictating play, turning them over, getting out in transition, where we're strong at, and then they upped their level of physicality, which is normal. They had a competitive response.
I thought we probably missed a couple of shots that maybe we could have staved off that run, but things spiraled a little bit, but then we made a little run to cut it -- it wasn't a huge deficit at the half. I think it was only nine. But give them to credit.
Q. Kyle started really hot and then struggled for the remainder of the game. What changed?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, it was some of them. They started pressuring us. Like I say, the shots got more contested, they weren't as open. We were getting out in transition. He got some transition ones. He got some easy open threes, some open drives in transition, and then they changed the game, and we probably didn't search out the extra pass as much as we had been doing.
Q. He's on pace for career lows in efficiency. Are you seeing any kind of rust as he's coming back from the injury? Is he not in rhythm right now? What are you seeing?
BRIAN KEEFE: No, this can happen. He's just getting back into form. I thought his energy was really good to start the game, was attacking, was aggressive, taking the type of shots we want. But go back to Atlanta; give them credit. They put their hands on us, made us take contested shots, and we probably didn't keep searching for the best solution to find the better shots in that quarter for sure.
Q. Would you say that's probably been that -- that probably was the biggest difference from the first two matchups early on with them versus tonight was that get-back, if you will?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, for sure. They can turn you over. They can put a tremendous amount of pressure on you. We handled that pretty well in the first couple and we really were moving it pretty consistently the whole game. We had pockets of it where we were really good tonight, and we had pockets where we struggled with it. We've just got to get more consistent.
Q. The first half, the transition defense, it seemed like the transition defense and the paint protection was kind of going hand in hand. What would you have liked to see kind of pick up in the second half to limit that, if it did for you guys?
BRIAN KEEFE: The game was fast. That game was a really high-paced game for kind of like a playoff setting. Some of our shots that we weren't getting, some of the shot selection, not as good as we had in that first quarter, that led to them getting some easy shots in transition.
Like I said, we finished the game right. We cut it. Corey had a shot that would have cut it to nine, and all these points matter in this Cup for sure.
Q. Alex's first three (indiscernible) getting shots there and getting closer?
BRIAN KEEFE: I think one of the things that was great about Alex was his -- he was one of the keys in the first quarter was his activity, steals, blocked shots, offensive rebounding. Sometimes that just leads to you getting some good shots. It wasn't anything purposeful, but we say, hey, let's limit where you're taking them from. It was his activity, and I really think that jump-started his game and that really got us going in the first quarter.
Q. How natural did it feel to you (indiscernible) when you're down double digits?
BRIAN KEEFE: You know what's funny, I did that stuff last year. I'm not above us learning and growing. I think we need to play the full 48 minutes because we can work on end of the game situations, plays that we draw in time-outs, things that we work on in practice. You should do it in this game for sure, but we would do that stuff going forward anyways.
Q. How nice is it for him confidence-wise to have a night like this?
BRIAN KEEFE: I think the one thing that's great about Alex is that he does not waver, and he has never wavered since I've been around him. He continues to play. He continues to compete. If a shot doesn't go in, it doesn't affect how he plays on the other end. This is a guy who can move on to the next possession. It's really pretty mature for someone his age to be able to do that. It's a great quality that he has.
Q. I want to go back to his defense, three blocks, four steals. I feel like he had at least three or four extra deflections that could have gone his way in steals, too. What is it about his defensive IQ that you all saw in the draft that we're starting to see now consistently from him?
BRIAN KEEFE: He has a very unique skill of understanding when to help, when to come over, when to disrupt. He has great spatial awareness of when to come into the play and help his teammates out. That's a really unique skill.
He's still learning NBA coverages and who he's guarding, but those things he does instinctively, and that's obviously what stood out to us in the draft process, and you can see that firsthand when he plays. He protects the rim. He's protecting all of our teammates. That's why sometimes our offensive rebounds, we need to help him while he's going to help us. We need to help support him while he's blocking shots and contesting shots at the rim. But he's got a unique skill set for sure.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports