NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn, and the rest of the team for that matter, had a tough task trying to beat the Washington Wizards without the services of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, and TJ Warren because of injuries. Not to mention that after the third quarter, Vaughn could not turn to Seth Curry or Markieff Morris because of their injuries that occurred in the game.
“It’s proof, it’s evidence of who we want to be as a team,” Vaughn said after Saturday’s 125-123 win over the Washington Wizards. “We talked about it. What day of the week, what state we’re in, how many guys are available. It just doesn’t matter. You have the ability and the choice to lock in and play. And, the group that we had tonight, they did that.”
Despite being down as many as 23 points, Vaughn was able to guide his players to a win despite a sluggish first half that was probably the result of Kyrie Irving’s trade request becoming public on Friday. One could tell that something was on the team’s mind if the first half was any indication.
“You get today. We’re not promised tomorrow. And, what if this was your last game? What would your approach be? How would your mentality be? How would your performance be? And so, this group really made a shift at halftime and showed a lot of, you know that word I use all the time, resolve. And, they showed up and they got rewarded.”
Vaughn will have to make some magic happen again when the Nets play against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
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