Wizards hit season scoring low, but Brian Keefe defends effort

The Wizards scored 75 points Saturday. For an NBA team, that’s a long night.

Their 114-75 loss to the Thunder produced the lowest scoring total by any team this season. But coach Brian Keefe wasn’t ready to attribute the result to a lack of effort.

Asked about his team’s compete level from the second quarter onward, Keefe pointed to missed shots and the difficulty of sustaining energy through them.

“I thought we tried to stay with it,” Keefe said, via The Athletic. “Obviously, when you’re not making shots, your energy can drop a little bit.”

Keefe said the Wizards were trying to attack the paint and pass out to shooters against a defense designed to crowd the interior.

“We were trying to play the right way offensively,” he said. “Sometimes you just don’t have nights (when) you make them, and tonight was one of those nights.”

Granted, creating a good look and converting it are different assignments. A missed jumper doesn’t automatically mean somebody quit competing.

Still, a 39-point loss leaves plenty to address beyond whether the approach was sound. The Wizards need to sustain their defense and activity when the offense stalls, because difficult shooting nights are going to happen.

This one became a difficult everything night.

More: Wizards-Thunder game recap