	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: RAPTORS VS. BUCKS

May 19, 2019

Mike Budenholzer

Toronto, Ontario - Postgame 3, Canada

Raptors - 118, Bucks - 112 (2OT).

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I feel like we gave ourselves several chances. We weren't able to get over the hump. Give them credit. As a group, they played well. A couple guys really stepped up for them. I think there's lots of opportunity for us to look at how we can get better collectively, how we can be better going into Game 4. I think we look forward to that.

Q. I'm just curious, how do you think their change in matchups affected your guys?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Well, obviously we didn't have a very good offensive game, so I think you should always give them some credit for their defense. Whether it's just the matchups or their defense in general, they were active. When we have good opportunities, you've got to make them. We didn't probably make enough of our good ones, and I think we'll be better in Game 4. Giannis, everybody. Looking at the film, I'll probably be able to answer that better.

Q. When it comes to Giannis in particular, what do you think it was that made things so difficult for him to get going?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Well, they were double-teaming him a lot. They were putting a lot of people, a lot of bodies at him. I would say what he's done all year, and my guess is what he did today, is he's sharing the ball. He's making the right read. He's making the pass. And we've probably got to shoot it a little bit better. We've got to drive it a little bit better. Maybe we can create more space for him. We'll look at all those things.

But you know, I think when somebody is committed to getting the ball out of his hands, we feel great about the shooting around him and the players around him. Hopefully we can make teams pay. We were right on the cusp of winning a game when we didn't play that well.

Q. You guys had like numerous opportunities, I guess, to kind of take the lead, take control of it down the stretch during the two overtimes and the fourth quarter. When Kyle Lowry fouled out, was that kind of one of your best opportunities to ultimately take control of the game?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: We were just scrapping and doing everything we could to be two, four, six down. We were playing from a deficit all night, so whether Kyle Lowry was on the court or anybody was on the court, I don't know that we really had a chance to take control of the game per se. We had a couple opportunities where maybe we could go up two and different things like that, but we were scrapping from behind the whole game. We just didn't make enough plays when we needed to, and that's how it goes.

Q. Khris Middleton has got such a difficult time defending Kawhi and tonight he was 11 for 25. Offensively how much do you think that's taken out of him on the offensive end and is there a way to get him some easy looks?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, no doubt Khris has got his hands full. It's a tough cover. I think he's so locked in defensively. The thing will bounce, he and Malcolm, back and forth guarding Leonard, so hopefully Khris isn't bearing the entire brunt of that. And then offensively, again, like I said, I think defensively they're doing some things well. Give them credit. And occasionally Khris or just us in general, we've got to make some more open looks when we get them because they're going to make it as tough as they can on Khris.

Q. You see George have that big game off the bench. Eric struggled a little bit. Is there anything Eric can take from the way that George was attacking or anything like that to kind of get himself going?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I think they're such good friends. They spend so much time together away from the court. When George plays well, he's like his biggest fan. I think George is playing with a lot of aggressiveness. Like you said, he's playing with a lot of force and attacking. And I think when Bled does those things, that's when he's at his best. I think just like the entire group, I think Bled will be better in Game 4. I've got a lot of confidence.

Q. Sort of a follow-up to a previous thing, Giannis finished with seven free throw attempts, zero entering the fourth. Seemed like a lot of physicality. Did you think that had anything to do with Leonard's defense, or was it just a fluke in the game?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: We always give credit to our opponent. I think whether it be Leonard or whoever else it was or the guys that were coming to double-team him, they were good tonight. It feels like Giannis could get to the free throw line more. You mentioned the physicality in your question. At some point, that should be rewarded with some free throws. But they weren't tonight, so Giannis is going to have to go with more force, play harder and -- I don't want to say smarter, because my guess is we'll look at the film and Giannis made a lot of great passes, made a lot of great decisions. But as far as getting to the free throw line, he may have to play with more force.

Q. First two games it seemed like you guys did a pretty good job of containing Marc Gasol and he really struggled the last game taking the blame in many senses. Seeing a couple shots go down early, do you think that was what got him going? Did he do anything different tonight? What did you see from Gasol?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: He's a pro. He's a great player. I'm sure him taking responsibility, it's never one guy's, but it just speaks to his character and he came out and had a great game tonight. He's a big reason why they were able to win. Can we track him a little bit better? I'm sure we can. Hopefully limit some of his looks. But we're doing a lot of things to limit guys, and at some point players are going to get shots and they're going to make them or miss them. Tonight Marc was good. He made a lot of shots.

Hopefully we can be better on him Game 4.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297