Wizards 138, Raptors 117
Q. Kyshawn, do you feel like maybe tonight might be the very best the team has played on both ends?
KYSHAWN GEORGE: One of them. I think we played really well in Indiana. I think our defense was better in Indiana. But we did lock in in the fourth quarter, allowed 17 points. That was the big positive tonight.
Q. The numbers also show that your team was excellent with its half-court offense. What was clicking so well?
KYSHAWN GEORGE: I think we tried to make the simple play. We knew they were going to be in the gaps early. It's Toronto; they thrive off of turnovers. Just make sure we make the right play every time, simple, and keep the ball moving.
Q. Kyshawn, you talked about before you always want to do the right thing, whether it's shooting well or passing in any given game. Was tonight one of the games where the right thing was to shoot a lot since you obviously scored 23 points?
KYSHAWN GEORGE: I mean, I didn't force up any shots, I felt. Took advantage of the matchups in the low post, hit my open corner threes. But I think the mindset was to come out aggressive and kind of lead my team, bounce back from that game in Charlotte. I think that's a positive for our teammates.
Q. Obviously Coulibaly had one of his best games of the season. How do you think he's been able to just stay engaged? Obviously he was in and out of the lineup a lot, but how has he been able to stay productive?
KYSHAWN GEORGE: I mean, he was in a tough spot with a couple of injuries at the start of the season, but it was really great to have him back. I always knew he was capable of doing what he did today, and he's capable of more.
But it's great to have him back, and it shows that he's stayed consistent with his work, his mindset. He just came back ready to play.
Q. When you look at a game like tonight from a defensive standpoint and then the Indiana game that you mentioned, a lot of what BK talks about is stacking days. How do you take what you guys were successful with tonight defensively and stack it to try to build upon this rather than having kind of those back steps that you sometimes have taken this season?
KYSHAWN GEORGE: I think we've got to realize that a game is not going to be perfect all the time, but the goal is on to the next action and knowing that we have a job to do every time, every second we're on the court, and just making sure that our mentality is okay, what's my next job, and we're trying to do it to the best of our capabilities.
Q. Do you feel as a team you guys are getting the time between those lapses or a team making a run where earlier in the season it might be extended? Do you feel like those frames are getting shorter and shorter for you all in how you're responding and responding in the way you guys want to?
KYSHAWN GEORGE: Yeah, I think we're getting better at it. There's just a lot of work to do. I think our focus is more shift to the simpler stuff, really making the right pass, being in the right spots, crashing the offensive boards, stuff we can really control, and by doing that, that contributes to winning and coming back and just having like a guideline of simple stuff that everybody can do just for us to follow.
Q. Five former first-round picks on the Wizards tonight had double-digit scoring in a pretty convincing win. Are there any times like this where you get excited about the vision really coming together and finally putting results together after a year and a half of this?
KYSHAWN GEORGE: Feels great to win, number one. It feels great to see that the work we put in is showing. We still have a ways, ways to go, but to have that result of the work that you've been putting in for a time, it's just always satisfying.
Q. With Bub shooting so well from outside, how much does that open up the offense when teams have to respect his shot and close out?
KYSHAWN GEORGE: I mean, he was doing it last year. He's doing it even better this year. He's just playing his game, plain and simple, and he's smart enough to make the right read every time on the floor, and I think we trust him to do that. That's what he's doing right now. If he's open, might as well -- not might as well, he'd better shoot it.
Q. These games where you're healthy, Bilal, Alex, the three of you, how much more staunch does your defense feel on the perimeter when you can have the three of you playing at the same time?
KYSHAWN GEORGE: Yeah, we have to anchor our defense. We have steps to make there. But we really take pride in defending, and it helps to have Alex, Bilal when he's just hounding the best player.
Then actually the group that started the fourth quarter did a really good job. Like I said, I mentioned scored 17 points in the fourth quarter. Just general a really team effort defensively, so it feels good.
Q. You talked about wanting to bounce back from Charlotte. It was a tough game for the team and it was a tough game for you personally. After games like that, is it something that you really want to bounce back from that game in particular?
KYSHAWN GEORGE: Yes, 100 percent, and more so making sure that it doesn't happen again.
Q. Kyshawn, piggybacking off what Coach Keefe said about stacking days, Bub has been stacking days, being a little more consistent. I'd like to hear your thoughts on him just growing the last couple games?
KYSHAWN GEORGE: Yeah, he's stick to it. We all know you're not going to have a linear progression. He wasn't necessarily shooting the ball as he wanted to at the beginning of the season, but he stuck with it. He's in the gym working every day. He trusts his work, and there's no reason why he should second-guess himself, and I think he's going out there and playing with a lot of confidence, as he should be, and just playing with a free mind.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports