What Steve Clifford Said Following the Win Over San Antonio

Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford met with the media to discuss Friday's victory.

The difference down the stretch

“We got P.J. (Washington Jr.) back in the game. We struggled there when he got his fourth. We did a good job for a while but it was right at the beginning of the fourth, so a couple of those guys that played the whole third, we’ve got them out. He helped, then obviously the Brandon Miller corner 3 was a huge shot, the ‘Melo (Ball) drive. Maybe the biggest play of the game was the P.J. Washington defensive rebound in traffic, plus-three then made a good outlet pass, too. We made a lot of good plays there at the end of the game which was important.”

P.J. Washington filling in at center

“The defense wasn’t very good, but the rebounding was good. You’re just not going to, in our league, you can’t play small…. You can play smaller and skilled at times, but nobody’s been able to do it so far. It’s good on offense and makes it hard on defense.”

Winning first game of back-to-back

“It’s good for confidence. Our group’s been through a lot and I’m really proud of them for how they’ve hung in there. They kept competing and working hard, so it’s good. You play every other night, and we’re in the middle of a brutal stretch here. We don’t have two days off again until after the All-Star break. It’s important to win just to feel good. It was LaMelo’s first game back at home, so all those things were positive.” 

The Core You Build Around in Charlotte

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