Giannis Antetokounmpo is continuing to believe after the Milwaukee Bucks were dominated by the Brooklyn Nets in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series.
Tuesday 8 June 2021 07:14, UK
The Milwaukee Bucks are sliding towards another demoralising playoff exit after falling 2-0 behind in their semifinal series against the Brooklyn Nets, but Giannis Antetokounmpo is refusing to let frustration take over as he seeks to inspire what would be a statement comeback.
The Nets coasted to a 125-86 in victory in Game 2 behind 32 points from Kevin Durant and 22 from Kyrie Irving having entered the matchup without James Harden due to the hamstring injury he sustained inside the first minute of Game 1.
Antetokounmpo led a lacklustre Bucks display with 18 points and 11 rebounds, with the loss marking head coach Mike Budenholzer's worst in the playoffs in his three years at the helm.
Despite the uphill trek that beckons, Milwaukee's talisman says the mindset hasn't changed.
"You know, you're down 25, you're down 30, at the end of the day, with five, six minutes left you know that it's hard to get back into this game and at the end of the day if you lose by one or you lose by 30, it's still the same, still you lose, you know?," he said post-game.
"So at one point the frustration goes away, you've got to focus when the game is over, how you can take care of your body, how can you talk to your teammates, how can you touch one another and pick everybody up? The frustration goes away.
"You know, obviously during the game you're a little bit frustrated when you don't knock down shots as a team but you know when they're up 25, 30 with five minutes left, you're sitting on the bench there's no frustration, the game is over. So, as I say, you've just got to focus on what the team can do better, how you can pick yourself up, your teammates up and get them ready for Game 3."
Among his jobs will be ensuring spirits are lifting around him heading into Thursday's Game 3 as the Bucks look to avoid being eliminated in the conference semifinals for the second straight year.
"It's easy," added Antetokounmpo said. "That's what I do.
"I don't get too high, I don't get too low. After the Miami series, we were up 4-0, and coming to this series, I wasn't high. Now that we're down 2-0, I'm not low. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing, keep trusting my work, keep trusting my teammates, keep believing in the team, keep believing in the habits we've built all year, and hopefully in Game 3 we get a win."
Again there were defining contrasts in shooting efficiency, the Bucks finishing 37 of 84 from the field (44 percent) and eight of 27 from the three-point line (29.6 percent) compared to the Nets' return of 49 of 94 (52.1 percent) and 21 of 42 (50 percent), respectively.
Milwaukee had been miserable from deep in Game 1, shooting just six of 30 from behind the arc.
"I think for us, we saw them hitting shots and we just became a little bit too selfish, and we tried to do it ourselves," said Bucks guard Jrue Holiday. "We had some shots in the paint, but they were tough shots, contested by two, sometimes three people.
"I feel like when we get in there, we have to try to spray it out and get those wide-open 3s. We didn't shoot that well from 3, either, and that's probably because we didn't have that many wide-open ones, and they did. We just have to be able to play off the pass a little bit better."
The opening clash had seen Joe Harris chip in with 19 points and Blake Griffin provide 18 points and 14 rebounds, and while the Nets' supporting cast wasn't required quite as much on Monday Durant and Irving were accompanied by a combined 60 points from Harris (13), Bruce Brown Jr. (13), Mike James (10), Landry Shamet (nine), Reggie Perry (eight) and Blake Griffin (seven).
While Brooklyn did well to contain Antetokounmpo, they also managed to limit Khris Middleton to 17 points and Jrue Holiday to 13.
"I like our attention to detail and I like how we didn't get a lot of plays perfect but we made the second and third efforts and they didn't destroy us on the offensive rebounds so that shows that we were boxing out - that was an emphasis for us," said Durant.
"But, for the most part, we just did what we were supposed to do, win two at home and now we have to see if this game will travel on the road for us and we've got to stay locked in."
