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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: RAPTORS VS. BUCKS

May 23, 2019

Mike Budenholzer

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Postgame 5, Canada

Raptors - 105, Bucks - 99.

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: You know, we've been a resilient group all year. We just need to think about going and winning one game, go to Toronto and get that. Tonight a little bit of a strange box score, obviously, VanVleet from the three-point line and them in general from the three-point line was a huge impact on the game. They got to the free throw line more than us and just we couldn't get -- we needed a couple rebounds there down the stretch that I think when we look at the film we'll feel like if we could have gotten a few more defensive rebounds from the five, four, three-minute mark on, maybe the end result would have been different.

But you know, we'll get ready. We'll get prepared, go to Toronto.

Q. Coach Bud, you mentioned rebounding. You out-rebounded them on the night, but it seemed like some of their threes were long rebounds that glanced off the rim, a couple of them late. Were those hustle plays by the Raptors or stuff you can't really do much about given the way the ball was coming off the rim?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Some of both, but you know, I think when Kawhi Leonard shoots a three from the three-point line and goes in and gets his own miss, that is a critical play that can't happen. You know, the one with the shot-clock violation where it glanced off the rim, you know, Gasol and Brook are battling, and if it just takes a little slightly different bounce, Khris is going to get that. Still a little uncertainty on exactly why they want to review, and the order of things that occurred in that particular instance. But that's a tough bounce. Others we've got to get to, we've got to get, find a way. All five guys gotta participate.

Q. Just continuing with those offensive rebounds, just how deflating can those plays be when you guys are trying to battle back?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Very.

Q. Bud, I'm curious, it's quite a scene to see blood running down Giannis' face on a TV screen. What did you think of his whistle tonight and the way he's officiated?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I mean, it just feels like he should be at the free throw line more. You know, they have a couple of guys that are veterans that are very crafty that seem to get there a lot, Lowry when he drives, you've got to be incredibly disciplined. He creates a lot of contact and is rewarded for it. Giannis creates a lot of the same contact and doesn't seem to get the same whistle, get the same reward.

But I think the officials, they've got a tough job. They do the best they can. We'd love for Giannis to get to the free throw line more, feel like he deserves it. But you're talking about the rebounding, the three-point line, those types of things. Those are the things we've got to focus on and get better.

Q. You did touch on the three-point defense. They obviously shot pretty well tonight and the corner threes being something you guys have defended well all season. What did you see tonight from the three-point defense?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I saw VanVleet just have a monster night. Sometimes I think a couple of them felt really deep, a couple of them felt really contested. I'm sure he had a couple of good open looks, too. So to get to seven, seven out of nine from the three-point line is just killer. Kawhi's step-back three when it's 82-81, that's a tough shot. Credit to him for making it. Credit to VanVleet for making them. Whoever else, they sprinkled in a couple others that made them, but VanVleet really stands out at the three-point line, and then Kawhi making five, usually he's just making them off the dribble. We've just got to be better.

Q. This was Kawhi's all-time high with nine assists, all of those on three-pointers. What did you see as his most dramatic impact in the game tonight, both on the offensive end and again on the defensive end, messing with Giannis's ability to dominate the game?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Well, you know, I think he's playing with the pass in a way that's helping his teammates, and you don't get nine assists unless your teammates step up and make the shots, so I think -- I don't know how many of those went to VanVleet. I know one coming out of the halftime, or ATO to Lowry. He's doing a nice job of playing with his teammates and sharing the ball, and as far as defensively he's a good defender. I don't know -- I think it's their whole group that's been good and effective.

Q. With 1:12 left Giannis went out. Did he just need a blow at that point? He had taken a little bit of a beating.
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: No, he twisted his ankle in the backcourt. He tried to, I think, kind of get a steal or surprise -- I think it was Leonard with the ball, and I think his foot just stepped on -- whether it was Leonard or Lowry, whoever's foot it was, and he just looked like he was in a lot of pain and maybe couldn't move and we had an offensive possession, just maybe get somebody out there who could move, make a shot, and I think, it kind of wore off, or the adrenaline wore off, and he was able to go back in.

Q. You put in a different starting five tonight. Malcolm Brogdon got to start. What were you thinking with that strategy and did you get what you were trying to get with that?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I think Malcolm was very good overall, and it's a group that started 64 out of 65 games for us. Malcolm has been the starter for the preponderance of the season an so I just felt it was the time for that group to start again. He did a lot of things well. Pleased with Malcolm.

Q. Obviously that starting group did well and got off to good starts in the first and third quarters, but what did you think of the way that changed your rotations and maybe how the bench handled tonight?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, you know, the starters, a lot of positives there. We didn't get as much from our bench as we have at different times during the Playoffs, and just VanVleet alone, but Norman Powell hit some shots early I thought when we got off to the good start. So their bench has played well. Our bench, we need to get a little bit more out of them. But as far as the subs, again, it's -- Malcolm has started a ton of games this year, so it was kind of like going back to a lot of the routine and a lot of the subs and patterns that we've had all year.

Q. Bud, you guys are kind of in uncharted territory. You haven't had your back against the wall much this year. What are you seeing from your guys right now?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I think we talk about the character of the group and the toughness and competitiveness of the group. It's first of four. We've got to go to Toronto, get a game, and I think the group will be ready. They'll fill their cup up and be ready to go.

Q. I'm curious, you guys come out, switch a little bit more, seemed to really disrupt them in the first quarter, and then that second quarter you scored two points in six-and-a-half minutes. How big of a swing was that in the game, that you don't go into the half with a bigger lead?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, no, we hit a dry spell there where I think we had a 10-point, different times 12-point lead maybe in the first quarter, and second quarter we just couldn't get anything to go. We'll look at the film. Sometimes it's offense that needs to be better and improved, or we just maybe missed some good looks. It's something we'll review on film.

Q. Bud, Niko [Nikola Mirotic] obviously out of the starting lineup tonight, then only played nine minutes. He couldn't get those shots to go. Where do you see him in the rotation for Game 6 and the rest of the series?
MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, we'll evaluate everything and see how Niko fits. He gives us great spacing, great shooting. If he can help us off the bench, then obviously we'll use him, and he can be very helpful to us.

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