NBA FINALS: BUCKS VS. SUNS

July 8, 2021

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks

Game 2: Postgame

Phoenix Suns 118, Milwaukee Bucks 108

Q. After last game you said you tested your body, you felt like you could push maybe a little more in this game. Did you feel like you could turn up your aggression or were you still testing things out this game?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: As I said in my previous interview, when I'm out there, it's not about testing no more. I'm out there trying to play, try to help my team win in any way possible. And you know, I was out there both times and that's what I do. I think when you start thinking about your knee or thinking about your toe or pinky or whatever the case might be, you just making excuses in your mind. You're out there, just play the game. Do whatever you can. Leave it out there on the floor and no matter what the outcome is, you just leave it there.

Q. Seemed you guys came out much more aggressive and turned it on in that first quarter. What do you think you need to do to stretch it out to the full 48 going back to Milwaukee?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: We have to stay aggressive going back to Milwaukee. We've been here before. We know what the deal is. Just got to be aggressive, keep enjoying playing together, keep enjoying playing basketball. And hopefully our good habits from throughout the year can take over and we can put ourselves in a position to win the game. But we know what the deal is.

Q. You get that cramp late. When it happened, were you thinking it was connected to your knee or just a cramp?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: Just a cramp. I didn't think it was connected to my knee. Just a cramp. I had to drink more water.

Q. When you go small without Brook on the floor, you're a huge part of the rebounding and securing those. Late in the game you guys struggled to finish those possessions. What did you see and as you're trying to get your stamina, can you be as active as you want to be in those off ball situations?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: Yeah got to do a better job, got to do a getter job on the 50/50 balls. There was one possession where we gave them three open threes. Wasn't able to get the rebound. I think we were like down six or something. It was a big shot. Just got to do a better job rebounding the ball.

And it's tough, it's tough, going small and like switching up, and then I've got to get my butt back and help my team to get the rebounds. But we're going to hopefully move forward, we're going to do a better job of that.

Q. It's been obvious during these playoffs your leadership role has grown off the court. Can you do anything to help or work with Jrue Holiday? He had a tough start with 3 of 12. Do you work with him or leave him alone? It's more than being supportive. Is there anything that you can do in the leadership position?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: Just keep talking to him, keep telling him to be aggressive. No matter what's going on, you've got to stay aggressive and you cannot get in your feelings. It's hard not to. You know, NBA Finals, 20,000 people booing you and all that, it's kind of hard. But at the end of the day, it's not about me. It's not about him. It's not about Khris. It's not about Coach. It's about all of us.

At the end of the day, if there's a game that you're 3 for 12 or whatever the case might be and you can rebound the ball or get a steal or do something else to help the team win, that's what it's all about right now. I think he understands that. I know he's going to be there when we need him the most and I don't worry about it. He's a great basketball player. He's a great basketball player. He's played great all year and he's going to continue to play great for this team.

Q. In the third quarter, the cameras caught you during the breaking very emotional with your guys and having the message you just talked about. What were you telling everybody? The way you use your voice, are you different now than you were a few years ago in those moments?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: I'm still the same guy. I'm just a little bit older, more mature. I know what I want. I want to win and I want to enjoy the game as much as possible.

In this situation, like I understand there's so much pressure from the whole world, from the media, from the fans. But at the end of the day, it's not about just us individually. It's about like the whole team, everybody that worked to be in this position. And we should be proud of ourselves and we should just go out there and enjoy the game to the fullest. We haven't been here since 1974. We made a great run so far this year and we have to enjoy this, this part.

It's kind of hard to enjoy the game when you're losing, but we're going to figure it out. We're going to figure it out. We're going to keep, win or lose, still be together, and we're going to figure out ways to put ourselves in position to win.

But no, I'm not different. I'm just a little bit older, that's it.

Q. To follow-up on that, going home, can that release some of that pressure to a degree because it's not 20,000 booing you or any of that stuff, and it's home? Or is that overstated?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: It's always good to play at home in front of your fans. But trying not to think about that right now. Just trying to think about what we have to do to put ourselves in a position to win, what I got to do, what the team got to do. We've got to watch the clips. We took a step toward the right direction but we have to keep getting better. We have to keep getting better in order for us to put ourselves in a position to win this series. But we're going to figure it out.

Q. What did you see in the third quarter, they go up 15 and you scored 13 straight of your team's points before Brook had a putt-back. What changed and what did you see and what made you have that run offensively?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: I just tried to be aggressive. Miss or make, got to be aggressive. Got to leave everything on the court. You know, just focusing on my body, my technique, everything I do. Yeah, just try to be aggressive.

Q. 42 points, 20 in the third quarter, when you're continually attacking over and over again, what's going through your mind during that time?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: Personally I think to win this series, it's going to be all mental. I feel like there's so much talent on both teams. It's going to be mental. It's going to be the constant pressure. That's what I want to put to the other team. Obviously they get tired, we get tired, Khris gets tired, I get tired, but we have to keep coming over and over again as a team. Keep being aggressive and keep pressuring them and having that constant pressure putting on them. That's what I was trying to do.

Hopefully going into Game 3 as a team we can do that more, and me, I just want to keep being aggressive.

Q. Having been in this position just a few short weeks ago against the Brooklyn Nets, is there anything you can draw on from that experience being down 0-2 that can help you on this stage?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: I think no matter what we say, we know what the deal is. It's as simple as that. We've got to go back home and do our job. They did their job. We've got to do our job. We've been here before and we were able to get the job done. Hopefully we can put ourselves in position and we can believe in one another and we can play together and we can have fun. We can compete and we can dive on the floor, we can make shots, put ourselves in a position to win the game.

But like we know what the deal is, man. Like we got to go back home and protect home.

Q. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but you mentioned the cramp, but there was also the first half you ran into Chris Paul, seemed like you might have hit your knee. Was that something you felt throughout the game or you're feeling now?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: No, no, no. In that position, I think both of my knees collided together. But I wasn't, you know, paying attention to that. I was paying attention in executing our plays. Putting myself in a position to be aggressive. Putting my teammates in a position to be successful and focusing on the game. I wasn't focusing on my knee.

Q. You mentioned you thought it was a step in the right direction tonight. What do you leave here encouraged about?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: I think we competed. There's a lot of things we have to improve. Rebounding the ball. We can play better. We definitely can play better. We can make more shots. Getting good looks. But yeah, we're going towards the right direction. Now, I don't know if we're going to win the next game or the game after that. But I know that we're going to compete and we're going to watch what we did good on tape and hopefully we can carry it over to Game 3 and do it even better and do it with more energy and more physicality and make it tougher for them.

And I've said this and I'm going to keep saying over and over again, not just for the media but for myself to hear it. Also, hopefully when we do those things, hopefully we can put ourselves in position to win the game.

Q. Over the two games of the series now, you guys are actually out-scoring the Suns when you've been on the court. You played 40 minutes tonight. How do you balance pushing Bud to get back in the game early versus making sure that you can be effective the minutes you're on the floor?

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: I just trust him. I think he's a great coach, and we've worked three years together. We've been in positions like this a lot of times. I think he knows when to take me out and when to put me in. I've just got to trust the process, and when I get back in, just do what I do. I can't focus on what I get in or what I get out. I've just got to focus on what I've got to do when I step on the floor.