NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

June 29, 2021

Khris Middleton

Milwaukee Bucks

Game 4: Postgame

Atlanta Hawks 110, Milwaukee Bucks 88

Q. Khris, just first off, what was your immediate vantage point and reaction to Giannis's injury?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Just hope it wasn't serious. We still don't know. That's about it.

Q. I’m just wondering, considering what you all went through last year with him getting injured and kind of struggling to find your footing mid-game but then finding it the next game, does it bring you back to that at all?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: No, I actually forgot about that. If he's able to play, that would be great. If not, we've still got to be ready.

Q. P.J., Jrue, they were talking about just even initially before Giannis went out, they were disappointed in the effort, the energy, the urgency. What do you need to do to swing that and have it be more immediate from tip?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: It wasn't there. Two games in a row we got off to a bad start. Last game we were able to pull it out and this game we were never able to get it going. They played hard. They played great tonight. They hit shots. We just have got to do a better job of getting those 50/50 balls. That was a big part of the game in the first half. Play with, like you said, more urgency. Getting after it more. They played hard. We've got to play harder than them.

Q. You were looking pretty much straight at Brook and Giannis contesting. What did you see and what did you hear? Giannis gave a pretty good yell.

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Yeah, I saw him yell. I mean, I heard him yell. I was looking up, so I couldn't really see exactly what happened.

Q. You can win this series in two more games. What do you need to do to win this series?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: I think the simplest thing to start off with this is playing harder in those 50/50 balls and defending better. As far as X and O's, just got to look at film. Go into a meeting tomorrow with Bud and see what we need to do.

Q. Do you feel like they were trying to more press-up?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: I think in the second half a little bit -- first half I was slow. That's part of me and everybody, we were talking about a sense of urgency wasn't there in the first half. But that's not the first time I’ve seen something like that. I've seen a lot of defenses. We all have. Just got to be able to play through it.

Q. For you, can you take me through the idea, you're two away from the NBA Finals, going from the high highs and a huge swing to seeing Giannis go down. How do you handle that huge swing in emotion.

KHRIS MIDDLETON: One game at a time. That's it. Not thinking about two minutes away. Not thinking about the Finals right now. Thinking about this loss right now, and then tomorrow moving on to Game 5.

Q. You and Jrue talk about trying to do too much. Can you lean on that a little bit and how you play as a team and who had to fill in roster-wise if Giannis can't go? Is there a little bit, that you've been there before this season with these guys?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Sure. I think the front office put together a great team, a deep team. We already have Donte out, Tucker stepped in and played a huge role for us. So now we'll see what happens with Giannis. It would be great if he plays, but if not, we still have a capable team of going out there and winning.

Q. You've seen all these guys getting hurt, whether it's freak injuries or soft tissue things or whatever. Do you think about that even before something like this happens? Is it like, man, if we stay healthy we're going to be in good shape, and then something like this happens?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: That's every year. Every year. You're hoping all your guys stay healthy. We already had one guy go down early in the season. Like I said, we don't know about Giannis. But it's part of the game. A lot of it is being healthy. Some of it is luck. And then the last part is being a great team.

Q. You had a knee injury but that was a long time ago. Can you almost relate to whatever Giannis may be feeling right now because you were once in that spot?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Not really, no, I can't. I can't. I don't know.

Q. Coach said it's impossible to keep Giannis away from his teammates. He came back to the bench briefly in the third quarter and Coach said he talked to you about something after the game. What did he say and what was his demeanor like in those situations?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: I don't understand the question.

Q. Your coach said that it's impossible to keep Giannis away from you guys as teammates. He went back to the locker room and came back to the bench briefly. Did he have any message for you guys when he came back and after the game, Coach said he addressed you.

KHRIS MIDDLETON: I might have missed that part. I talked to him briefly. Positive. Said we dropped this one, we've got to go get the next one.