NBA FINALS: BUCKS VS. SUNS

July 8, 2021

Jrue Holiday

Khris Middleton

Milwaukee Bucks

Game 2: Postgame

Phoenix Suns 118, Milwaukee Bucks 108

Q. Offensively what were you seeing individually tonight?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I think we had a lot of open shots that we didn't make. I know me personally, there were a couple layups there that I usually make that kind of rimmed in and out. Had some good looks.

Giannis had a great game getting to the basket, penetrating. I feel like we did a pretty good job of penetrating and making plays for other people, but just got to do it a little bit better.

Q. Khris, for you offensively, it felt like you had some go in and out. Were you pleased with the looks you were getting?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Yeah, in the first half, I had more than a few go just in and out for me. So, that's that. I'll take them over and over again. Just didn't hit them in the second half.

Q. When those shots rim out, what is your next strategy? Do you take it inside? Go back outside? Do you have a short-term memory and forget about it?

JRUE HOLIDAY: Definitely a short-term memory. Be aggressive and get to the basket. Sometimes when you miss those, your big is there to clean you up. I know a couple times Tuck was there, and Brook was there. You also have to apply pressure on the basket.

Q. Second time you're down 0-2 to a very good team, but you have a couple days now to get back. Do you lean on Brooklyn? Is that totally in the past? How do you wrap your head around having to win a game in Milwaukee?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: It's going to be tough. They took care of their home court. We have to find a way to do the same. It starts with the first one at them, though. We've got to come out, be prepared and be ready for a dogfight. We have been in this hole before. It's not going to be easy, but we've got to find a way to do it.

Q. Jrue, last game you said you were not necessarily happy; you were happy with the shots you took, but maybe you could be more aggressive and eventually they would fall. How would you evaluate that effort tonight? Seemed like your aggression was a little bit up, and does it have another gear that it can go to?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I think I did a good job of being aggressive, especially from the start. We got a quick lead early, but again, they started to go dry there a little bit. I'll continue to be aggressive. It's the only thing I really can do is put pressure on the rim and try to spread out for threes.

Q. And Khris, when Giannis goes off for 42 tonight, when he's doing that, do you look at, okay, how can we aid him more? Or what's kind of the process of this needs to be a team effort?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Yeah, just try to find that balance. At the same time, try to play through him when he has it rolling like that. When he sees a crowd, we have to be able to help him out.

Q. Sorry for the obvious question but I don't think it's easy to appreciate how hard it is to defend Booker, especially when he's got that back lean. You can have a perfect approach, hand in his face and he still makes it. How difficult is it to defend him?

JRUE HOLIDAY: He's one of the leading scorers in this game. He's put in the work and practiced for it, just like we've done the same. He's damn near perfected it and has been on a roll, been on a tear. Difficult, yes, but still not impossible for us to do a little bit more.

Q. You spent the last couple days talking about trying to limit them at the foul line and in transition. You were able to do that, but they got loose from three. Was there anything specifically you guys could have done differently, or was it a matter of getting shots they were able to knock down?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: I think a little bit of overhelping. CP and Book, they were able to get into the pick-and-roll play and get in the middle. Draw a crowd to helps sometimes. Sometimes we overhelp and sometimes they hit tough shots. They did a good job of spreading the floor, getting to the middle and then drive-and-kick and find the shooters.

Q. When Booker and Paul are hitting those big shots in the second half, those momentum killers, how do you make sure you don't get sped up, especially on the road, and have that affect what you guys are doing on the other end?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I think we do exactly what we did: Stay calm, stay collected. I think the third and fourth quarter, we outscored them in the third and we tied in the fourth.

I think there are times in the game where if they hit those big shots, you've just got to stay calm like we did. And then once we get down, what, seven points, six points, we have to try to get over that hump.

Q. Now that you're going back home, what do you think will be the keys to get that first win in front of your fans? And what do you think is something that you would like to work on collectively?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Like I said, it's going to be hard, but that's what it is at this point in the playoffs. Hopefully we can knock down a couple more shots, limit them to some of those three-pointers and play a little bit faster or freer or whatever.

What was the second part of the question? Sorry.

Q. What is something you would like to continue working on?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Knocking down some shots would make life a lot better for us. But also making things tougher. The three-point line like I said before, containing CP and Book on those pick-and-roll plays and just not allowing them to get to their spots so easily.

Q. What adjustments do you do to defend at the three-point area when the Suns are shooting 50 percent? Can they be slowed down?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I think so. I think tonight we overhelped just a little too much. With Book and Chris, they attract so many people that you just want to just try to stop them from getting (in) the paint and make it difficult for them, but you can't forget about the other guys. Not helping so much and hard close-outs to those threes.

Q. You guys have played small in this postseason and rebounded well. What do you need to do better against this Suns team specifically with the small-ball units?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Definitely run down those long rebounds, loose balls. They had several. Late in that fourth quarter, they scored each and every time. Even if they missed that second attempt, they still got it back and hit a mid-range or a three. We do that, it could be a totally different ballgame.