Spurs 124, Wizards 113
Q. What did you see in the second quarter of the game that got a little out of hand?
BRIAN KEEFE: Started out a little bit of fouling, like three in a row, I think, got them to the free-throw line early, a little bit of offensive rebounds. But the most important thing is how we responded. We were obviously shorthanded a little bit tonight, but our guys continued to fight. Obviously the second half we were plus 9. Went small, tried some different things. Jamir was really great when we went small and we kind of had them on their heels and we had an open three to cut it to, I believe, six late in the game.
A lot of positives from that. Obviously got to give them credit in the second quarter, but we won three out of the four quarters, something we can grow from. Our resiliency is growing. We responded two nights in a row in the second half. We obviously want to look at the film and see what we can do better with some of those runs so that doesn't happen, but we responded, and that's what I'm really happy with the group.
Q. You talked about going small. With Tristan having to shoulder heavier than usual, what did you see from him in particular on the defensive end and what led you to go small there?
BRIAN KEEFE: Justin gave us a great pop at the beginning of the game. I think he had 10 points almost at the first time-out, I believe. Just spaces the court for us, gives us a different look.
We just wanted to try something different. We've been working on it a little bit, but we wanted to get our smaller guys in, switch a little bit on the pick-and-rolls, and then try to spread them out as much as possible and then attack the gaps and obviously get some threes up, but that really triggered our third quarter.
Q. There was a big disadvantage on the glass. I know you're missing some key guys. Was it that simple or something you could have done better?
BRIAN KEEFE: You know me, I'm never going to say it's because we had guys out. The ball goes up in the air, that's a competitive battle. Sometimes you've got to get it. I think we did a little bit better at times when we went on the runs, but got to give them credit; they out-rebounded us.
Q. What was the difference offensively from the first half to the second?
BRIAN KEEFE: We were getting in the paint, attacking them. It started with stops. We were getting out in transition, having a little bit of a disorganized court for them in transition. We were able to explore the paint and then we spread them out because we had shooting everywhere, and our guys did a really good job of sharing the ball.
Q. Similar to the rebounding, the three-point shot got you back into the game and eventually won you the game last night. Tonight it seemed like was it as simple as the shots were not falling when you needed them to.
BRIAN KEEFE: Sometimes that's the way it goes. You've got to figure out -- that's what I was really happy with our group tonight. Sometimes the shots are not going to go in. I believe in the first half we had 19 catch-and-shoot threes, which is a big number. That's the way we want to play.
Sometimes they don't go in, so you've got to figure out how to do different things. The game changes, and I thought we did a great job of adjusting to that and figuring out different ways to score and get stops.
Q. The third quarter both Bub and Tre had a really hot third quarter from a scoring standpoint. What did you see that they were able to find advantages, especially with the sheer size that San Antonio was playing with?
BRIAN KEEFE: We were able to speed the game up, use what we had, our quickness, our ability to penetrate, and those guys were aggressive, and those guys had open shots we wanted them to take them. They're both great shooters, and they obviously gave us a nice push there in the third.
Q. Season low for you all in turnovers. What shifted that you guys were able to take such great care of the ball but the result on the offensive end just wasn't getting what you wanted?
BRIAN KEEFE: It was really just the one quarter, when it really came down to it. We out-scored them, like I said, the other three. Give them credit. We've always got to do that.
But I liked our ability to generate offense still when we weren't shooting the ball that well. The process was right. That's what we care about most. That's going to lead to good things for us going forward.
Q. How do you feel like Tre has gotten better offensively this season?
BRIAN KEEFE: Tre is a good offensive player. He's just getting used to playing with his teammates. This is only a few games back here coming off of injury. He's just getting his rhythm. We're finding him in the spots where he can make shots, some actions we can recognize for him where he can come off and be aggressive. But this is what this guy does. He can score.
Q. With Tre and Bub, it seems like they have a little bit more of a quick trigger now with the threes, getting them to a little bit faster. What have you seen with their willingness to take that shot and the effectiveness they've had there?
BRIAN KEEFE: Just want them to be aggressive. That's the big thing I want all of our guys -- especially those two because they're such good shooters. When you have daylight and it's the right thing coming out of something we recognize, shoot it. We want them to be aggressive because it's going to build good shots for everybody else, and you can see that. That's what happens. Those guys have gravity. People pay attention. That leads to shots from other people. So we want our guys to be aggressive and hunt good shots, and those guys were hunting good shots tonight.
Q. The last couple games I wanted to ask if you've seen a lot of growth with the guys that are just more moving on to the next play. Have you seen a lot of growth the last couple games?
BRIAN KEEFE: I think we've shown really good resiliency here lately. We can even go back to the Atlanta game. We were down 15 in that game, came back, tied it going into the fourth quarter. Last night came back, huge second half, obviously won the game last night. Even tonight -- the games aren't always going to go the way you want. That's just part of it. Our guys are learning how to move on to the next play, do the next right thing, and we're responding to things when they aren't going our way. That shows we're growing as a team. I've really been pleased with that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports