Wizards 119, Heat 118
Q. It seemed like Bub really took control down the stretch. What did you see there?
BRIAN KEEFE: I started him first game of the year because I believed in his character and what he was going to do for our organization because of his competitiveness, his mental toughness, and then what he did tonight was unbelievable.
Big play down the stretch and then obviously the game winner, but he kind of did it the whole fourth quarter. Shows who he is as a person. Competitor, character, leader. I couldn't be more proud of him tonight. Really happy for him.
Q. Were both final possessions drawn up for him to take the shot?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yes, they were. The Justin one, too, they just over committed. We made the right play. But yeah, they were for him for sure.
Q. For him to miss that first kick, have the confidence, and then kick it to Justin and then take that last shot, what does that say about him?
BRIAN KEEFE: That's just who he is. He's not afraid of the moment. He just goes for it, lives with it, make or miss, that just shows you who he's about. There's no fear in that young man.
Big time, and big time for our organization, just fighting until the very last second of the NBA season. That just shows you what we've built here and who we are. We have competitors. We've gotten better, and it doesn't matter who's on the court. We're going to fight tooth and nail until the very end, and our team did that tonight.
Q. He told me in the walk-off when he pulled the guys together since you guys didn't have the time-out you knew what the play was and he asked the collective group who should take the shot and he said Tristan said, you take it. To have not just the confidence in himself after missing that shot. But the group to then put the confidence in him, as well, just the leadership that he has and the mindset that that five had to finish that game out says what about them?
BRIAN KEEFE: And we had three guys, I think Colby, Tristan, A.J. played the whole 24 in the second half. We had seven guys tonight. Everybody just stepped up. Guys were -- some of these guys played a lot of minutes lately, and they were out there and they loved it. They loved the competitive part, the camaraderie part.
The guys on the bench were unbelievable tonight, too, the guys who were injured, supporting each other. That's the stuff that you can carry over, and I think that's what we've been doing here for a very long time. Couldn't be more thrilled for the guys tonight. They deserved that one.
Q. The mindset of the group collectively coming into Miami kind of knew what their situation in the postseason would be. They had guys resting, as well, but to almost take it like a chip on the shoulder type of mentality it seemed like, to want to get this one to close out the season on the right nights. What was that message to the group as you guys prepared to take the floor tonight?
BRIAN KEEFE: To be honest with you, it was them. We just talk about doing what we do, and that's what we do, we compete. The guys deserve all the credit tonight. They wanted to play tonight. They brought it, and they brought it for 48. That was what it took tonight, literally until the last second. Great win.
Q. You talked all season about the process and sustaining and putting together 48 minutes. How does it feel that in game 82 you got that 48 minutes of fighting and playing tooth and nail until the final buzzer?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, I think that's what it was meant to be. That just shows our growth, winning it on -- ending the season on a walk-off. That just shows you where we're at, where we're growing.
We're not there yet. We know that. We've got a lot of work to do. But that shows great growth that we were fighting tooth and nail when we were down four and we ended up winning that game. Really impressive.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports