NBA FINALS: BUCKS VS. SUNS

July 11, 2021

Mike Budenholzer

Milwaukee Bucks

Game 3 Postgame

Milwaukee Bucks 120, Phoenix Suns 100

Q. Giannis goes for 40-and-10 for the second straight game. What did you see from him?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: He's just doing whatever it takes to help his team, to help us. He's in an aggressive mindset. He always plays that way. But I thought he played with the pass well. He made some great reads, found guys, played against the zone. He just did a little bit of everything. Offensive boards, putbacks. We need a lot from him and that's what he does.

Q. It felt like every three Jrue hit in the third quarter was just massive. What did you see from him tonight?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: There was a little bit of a run that they went on early, mid-third quarter. Jrue was able to hit a couple of threes, get some good looks. I thought Pat got a couple of good looks. Pat got behind the defense in the zone. They made a run and I think Jrue was a big part of us get back settled and get in a good spot. That's what we needed.

Q. How much of tonight was a build-off of Game 2 in that limiting them at the free throw line, points in the paint, turnovers? It seemed like a lot of the same emphasis. How much of it was that there were things there in Game 2 that you wanted to continue?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I think this group is just about getting better, improving, learning, and hopefully we did that in Game 2. There's some things, you just can't relax on any of that. You can't relax on keeping guys off the free throw line. You can't relax on attacking and getting to the paint. You can't relax in transition defense.

I thought P.J. Tucker getting some offensive rebounds, tracking some balls down, playing, moving, screening. So, I think this group finds a way to win and finds a way to get better.

Q. The Suns were able to take control after the second quarter the first two games, and you were able to do that tonight in reverse. What did you see in the second quarter?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I think a little bit from earlier, we talked about Jrue making some shots, Connaughton, obviously Giannis in attack mode. I thought we were able to get some stops between -- between those guys making shots, us getting stops, making things hard on them, and it's just those runs. They made one at us and then we finished the quarter with one on them.

Q. You've talked a lot over the past couple days about the experience of being down against Brooklyn and other points in the playoffs. Did that come through in the first half when you were down a little and didn't panic or get unsettled?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I think it was 36-30 and at that point the guys kind of finished the rest of that quarter really strongly. So, I think the communication, the leadership and the timeout and coming out, making a few plays, and kind of changing that mini-run that they went on to get to that point was important for us.

Q. Going back to Giannis, how important is it when he has this type of performance where he dominates but also involves his teammates?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I think that's when we are at our best, when Giannis is at his best, it's a little bit of both. He's a great playmaker, screener, passer and he does so many great things. I think when he's conscious of doing a little bit of everything, he's very capable and that's when he's at his best.

Q. Giannis was really good at the line tonight, but he's been good the whole season and his whole career in terms of attempts. What is it that the attempts allow you guys to do defensively in terms of getting back and getting set and some of the other things, some of the other benefits of him just getting to the line, whether he makes it or not?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I think any time you can get to the bonus and you're rewarded for any type of foul, the quicker you can get to the bonus, sometimes it's from Giannis creating fouls and attacking and getting his free throws. Like you said, being able to set your defense and not have to play off a miss or play when you're not matched up and you're scrambling. I think it just gives the team a great confidence when he's going there and we're getting to the free throw line. It's important.

Q. In the last game you didn't go with Bobby a lot and tonight you played him something like 18 minutes. What did you think he could bring to the game even though he didn't play a lot last game?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I think his shooting always stands out to me. He's a guy, you know, I think he makes a big one in the corner in front of their bench in the second quarter and his ability to space the court for us, and then also work the offensive glass, get some put-backs. His energy and activity defensively is good.

He's important for us, and I think him helping and finding a place for him is something we need to do.

Q. What did you like about matching their small look rather than bringing two bigs or whatever it might be?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I think just the versatility of the group. I thought Brook was good in his 20 minutes, too. You've just got to kind of feel it. Crowder had a pretty amazing night, 6-for-7 from the three-point line. I think when he's making it at that rate, which is very, very high, we kind of think, you know, decided to try and limit those a little bit. And you know, P.J. Tucker is so versatile. Giannis is so versatile, Bobby, Pat, we just try and mix-and-match the guys.

Q. Coming out of Game 2, there was talk about collapsing and they had some open threes. What was the balance that you found here between Games 2 and 3, and outside of Jae Crowder's six threes, they only had three more and Devin Booker only had 10 points. What were you able to do on him as well?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I think the threes, Paul and Booker both have the ball a lot. You don't want them to feel free and comfortable. So, you have to try and do a little bit of both. Try and make them have some pause, make them have some hesitation and still get to the shooters. We've got to keep getting better and growing in that kind of specific area.

And then Booker, I think lots of different guys guard him. He's a great challenge, keeping him off the free throw line, keeping him off the three-point line. I'm sure he'll be ready to go. We've got to be ready to match that going into the next game.