NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

June 29, 2021

Bogdan Bogdanovic

Atlanta Hawks

Game 4: Postgame

Hawks 110, Bucks 88

Q. Are you feeling better, and did that lead to your performance tonight?

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC: As I said last time, you know me. I don't want to make excuses. Tonight was a better night for me, and then the knee doesn't hurt or hurts less. When I miss it hurts more. It's not about that. At this point everything is mental. Injuries are part of the game, and I don't want to talk about it. I'm happy that we win tonight really.

Q. How important was it for you, also Lou [Williams] and Kevin [Huerter], as well, with Trae out, how important was it for you guys -- you had 26 assists even without Trae. How much was that a priority to make sure the ball is still moving?

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC: Even with Trae, when we didn't know Trae is not going to play until later in the night. When we were watching the tape, the mistakes we made that third game, the last game was we didn't move the ball enough. We had that same game plan with Trae, too, to move the ball, to make more drives and kicks and to stick to the plan.

When we find out Trae was out, we had Lou Will, who can definitely step up, and we were very confident in him.

Q. I'm sure this performance from Lou didn't surprise you guys, but how key was the way he led the way for you guys?

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC: I mean, he is our vet. He's holding our locker room, and he's a true vet, true leader. He has always been doing that. Every time we needed him he was there for us all the time, the whole year, and we appreciated having him, man, really.

Q. Kevin was in here before saying you guys talked before the game and the message was for nobody to be a hero and Nate said he wanted you to stay in your lanes and do what you do. With Trae out how do you stick to doing that when everybody's initial instinct is to be to try to do more to make up for the guy that's out?

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC: As I said, we didn't think about it. Maybe if we knew this morning that Trae was out, maybe we would think more about it, but he did a hell of a job holding it until the last moment. Yeah, he was doing all the work. We thought he was going to play, and right before the game that last meeting, we find out he's not playing. We just stick to the game plan. Nothing new.

We had that mentality during the whole year, next-man mentality, and we had Lou Will and he played unbelievable. But it's not over yet. I hope Trae recovers, and we need him next game.

Q. How much does it help, though, like you said, having Lou, a guy who everybody knows is going to be the same no matter what happens. In a situation like this where you have a guy like that who's been in a million games where he has that even keel demeanor.

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC: He gives us another level of confidence, for real, like in the locker room and to play with him, it's so easy, to communicate with him it's so easy. He's been in the league so long, he's seen everything, and he knows how to make the game easier for everyone, not just for himself. It's fun to play with him.

Q. It was such an interesting thing, I was going to ask you about knowing that Trae was injured, if you knew about it all day long, take me through that. How would that have been different for you than finding out 40 minutes before the game?

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC: I don't know. I haven’t been in that situation, man. I don't know, I cannot -- I don't know. I've been in this situation, so I think it would be a little bit more pressure probably on everybody, knowing and thinking about it all day. We need him, he's our guy, you know.

Yeah, it's completely different level of pressure, but as I say, he did a pretty good job holding it until the last minute.

Q. I would like to ask you, how important was the 20-point game for your confidence and what was your feeling when you hear the fans chanting "Hawks in six"?

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC: I mean, I live for these moments, man, and I really appreciate every minute on the floor. I know it's hard to get to this level of the basketball game. It's hard to get to the playoffs. It's hard to get to the second round. It's hard to get to the Finals. At this point everything is hard. And it's mental. All of it is mental and you have to fight through it, and it's another level of experience. I just live for that, man. I enjoy every single moment, and I know -- I don't think about my game so much, just finding a way that we can win.

I know my game will come eventually. As long as we play good as a team, we will have -- we have a lot of talent that any other guy can step up every other night. We had tonight, I think Cam was that difference, Cam Reddish, defensively, offensively. You don't know how hard it is to not play the whole year and just get in rotation in the Eastern Conference Finals and knock down some big shots, play like really great defensively. I mean, huge credit for him. The strength and conditioning staff, as well, keeping him ready, and coaches, as well.

Q. I wanted to ask you about that shot that Clint made over the backboard because it looked like you were in the corner looking for the pass. What was your reaction to that shot?

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC: I mean, I couldn't believe it, as all of you guys. I just talked with Clint, man. We always talk about when you do some move like that you don't practice, we say -- and you don't make it, we say, we have to work on it next summer to get better because that's a summer workout. So today he scores something that it's unbelievable. But it's fun. It's fun to see it really.

Q. I'm curious about how does your role change when Trae is not out there?

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC: I mean, we play as a team. Yeah, I've been more on the point guard position a little bit more than when Trae is in, but we're still trying to win the games at the end of the day. That's what matters. With Trae, with me, whoever, I think we always talk about that, win. That's all that matters. You have to adjust yourself to the role, nothing else.

Q. You made six three-pointers and finished with 20 points. What changed in your game to have those great numbers on offense?

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC: Probably the tape. We watched the tape this morning, and we saw a lot of like tough and contested shots we took the previous games, the last two we played when we lost, when they adjusted defensively and they started switching more.

But now this game is over, and we already have to think about next game. They're going to come with another level of adjustments, and they are that caliber of a team. Nothing counts right now previously.

Q. How would you describe tonight's game, and from your perspective, what was different tonight compared to the previous games?

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC: We kept our fans off the seats the whole game. We didn't drop the lead from the beginning, and I think they enjoyed it. They had a lot of fun. That energy was translated through our team. Like everyone enjoyed playing tonight and everyone felt important on the floor, and that's really good to see as a team. That shows that this team is growing up.