NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

June 25, 2021

Jrue Holiday

Milwaukee Bucks

Game 2: Postgame

Milwaukee Bucks 125, Atlanta Hawks 91

Q. Jrue, what did it mean for you tonight to have that pairing going with Brook? It felt like Brook was everywhere in that first half, what did you see from him tonight? You've said he's underrated and people don't realize. What did you see from him tonight?

JRUE HOLIDAY: He came through big. Came through big in times when we had momentum and kind of seemed like maybe they scored a point or two, but he came through with big blocks protecting my back. Trae is a great young player in this league and he's hard to guard. Brook was always there to protect my back and everybody's back. So he did a great job, and then he shot the ball well tonight, rebounded well. That was kind of a point of emphasis for us, and he had a great game.

Q. What did you think from your perspective, what you're able to do better against Trae tonight?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I think just mix it up, make it difficult for him. Not get too many easy looks. Last game he was living in the paint. Had a lot of floaters. Was pretty much there for him. We didn't really want to get him started early and I don't think he went to the free throw line much tonight which is also pretty big for us.

Q. What did you see on that leak out? Was that just something that you said, we can get that?

JRUE HOLIDAY: Pretty much we can get it. First we have to secure the rebound. So that's probably up to the bigs here to grab that. But at that point, Trae is on his follow through, and his misses, especially long shots, sometimes they can be long, so I can't leak out every time but a couple of those, we made some good plays.

Q. For lack of a better word, it sounded like you were annoyed the other day with just how it went in Game 1. Was that the feel to a degree, because when you talk about rebounding and defensive effort, some of those things, it feels controllable on your guys part. Was I reading that right that maybe after that first game, no disrespect to Atlanta, but it was like you guys maybe felt like you left some stuff out there.

JRUE HOLIDAY: We did. We definitely felt like there were things we could have done better. Obviously going back and looking at film there were a lot of mistakes that could have been corrected, or like you said, were in our control. That's something we felt like was a key point of emphasis, especially for this game, and again, we know what kind of team they are. They play fast.

They have a lot of weapons, but at the same time, there's going to be long rebounds, with John Collins and Capela out there, rebounding gave them a boost and we feel if we take care of that, we have a pretty good chance of winning.

Q. Do you feel like you have to be a scorer in this series?

JRUE HOLIDAY: Yeah, yeah. I think that especially playing with Giannis setting the screen-and-roll, they worry about him so much, so kind of when I get downhill, I have to make a decision. For the most part, they are always going to build back to Giannis because of how effective he is in the paint. I do feel like I have to switch.

Q. I don't know if you've been asked but to commit to Team USA like you did in the middle of this intense playoff run, and you might make the Finals and that could go on, how hard of a decision was that and to move your focus away from the playoffs for a minute to think about that?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I don't think I had to move my focus. I think it's an honor to play for your country, especially an opportunity like this to be able to go out there and have USA on your chest. Also my wife played, has two Gold Medals. I've experienced from a fan standpoint and I thought it would be cool to experience it from actually playing.

But I think I'm always focused on this immediate, what's happening right now, that’s been my main focus, and it's going to continue to be that. If we go the to Finals or whatever happens, up until that point, this is what matters.

Q. You've addressed your defense against Trae but how was it different compared to Game 1?

JRUE HOLIDAY: It was great. I think it was a group effort. We tried to help each other and clogging the paint and take away threes and offensive rebounds, two guys on Capela fighting, fighting Collins, being able to find bodies and space them out and go from there. Defensively, I think we did a very good job of playing for each other, which, again, with a team with so many shooters and scorers, that's going to be huge.

Q. After last game you were talking about physicality and how you could potentially be more physical with Trae but it's also a balance defensively because he is a smaller guard. Can you assess how that was for you tonight and maybe what was different there specifically with the physicality?

JRUE HOLIDAY: Yeah, I think I played smarter tonight. I played smarter than I did last game. There are times where I need to be physical with him and there are other times where I want him to think I'm going to be physical and I'm going to an extreme. I know he does a thing where he comes off and jumps back into you, certain things like that, kind of playing that game. But I think I was definitely smarter tonight, smarter than how I played the first game.