Milwaukee — If there was a play to summarize the futility of the Atlanta Hawks' offense in Game 2 against the Milwaukee Bucks' flock defense on Friday, it was probably the first of the second half.
The Hawks, trailing 32 points in the half, opened the third quarter unable to shoot off, the ball ending in Trae Young's hands as the shot clock buzzer sounded.
In Game 1, Young was majestic, scoring 48 points in the opening win. But as the Bucks renewed focus on ball pressure on Friday night, Young struggled in Game 2, turning it nine times, including eight in the first half, as the Bucks cruised to a 125-91 victory. done, series 1-1 in the evening.
"It's all on me," Young said. "I have to get better at taking care of the ball. And at least we have to do a better job of getting a shot and not overdoing it. And I have to do better and I'll be better in the next game."
There was much discussion of the Bucks' defensive plan in Game 1, which saw Young sticking around the screen and downhill for a series of floaters for massive one-drop coverage. But Young said there wasn't much adjustment in how the Bucks defended him—they turned up the intensity.
"They didn't do much differently," he said. "He just played more aggressively. [Ref] Scott [Foster] and he allowed more to go on tonight. So just gotta be better and be able to react better."
After drawing nine fouls in Game 1, Young only scored one foul in Game 2, the fewest for Young in any game this season, the regular season, or the playoffs. The competition committee would explore a rule change on the type of game Young drew, in which he stopped on a pull-up jumper and let a defender run into his back.
"A lot of it is more about how the referees are going to call it that night," Young said. "If they'll let them be aggressive, they'll let them be aggressive. If they're not — I mean, they'll say it the way it should be, then it'll be different. But sometimes it's said that way , and when they're aggressive and they don't say it, it's a night like tonight."
Young finished with 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting, including 1-of-8 from 3-point range, with only three assists. Even two out of 3 Youngs would have turned in 2s due to the toe on the line.
"It was just one of those nights, and sometimes it happens," Young said. "It sucks that this happened tonight, but we should be able to bounce back."
Jrue Holiday, who made the all-defensive first team this season, guarded Young on 29 of 47 plays in the first half, with Young going 2-of-8 off the floor and six turnovers on those properties. With both sitting out the fourth quarter, Young finished 3-of-11 with Holiday as their primary defender, compared to 3-of-5 against every other Buck.
"I think I played smarter tonight. I played smarter than last game," Holiday said. "There are times I need to be physical with him and there are times I just want him to think that I'm going to be physical and I can go down a screen. I think I'm definitely better than before." I was smarter in the game."
Hawks coach Nate McMillan had a different take on the matchup.
"I didn't think Jure did anything other than focus on trying to stop the ball," he said. "When you have that type of pressure on the ball, we have to do a better job of screening."
The Bucks played shorter more often than Game 1. Forward Bobby Portis subbed early to play minutes in the center and blitzed pick-and-rolls with Young and stayed on with the switch. Portis played 18 minutes in Game 2, virtually all center.
"He didn't really change his defensive plan too much," Young said. "They were higher on the rollers so the girth was more open, and I just have a better read. I take full responsibility for what happened tonight. Taking care of the ball is something I have to get better at, and I get better at it." I'll be there. He's really outgrown his physicality, and we have to do the same."
Young has driven through several defensive looks and top-tier defenders this season, including outrageous numbers and clutch performances. Despite a bad night in Game 2, he said he was confident he would sort out the things the Bucks were throwing at him.
"I mean, every series has been physical," he said. "The Knicks and the Sixers are two of the top three defenses in the league. The Sixers had three all-defensive players on the team. I've seen physicality from defenders all over the playoffs, and it's nothing new. I just get it. Be able to respond and get better in the next game."
The message in the Hawks' locker room was to focus not on the poor performance of Game 2 in isolation, but on the sum total. The Hawks earned the desired split, any road team looking to open a series, taking a similar series in Atlanta for Game 3. Beyond that, it's familiar territory for the Hawks, who were 1–1 back home in the first two series. He won this postseason.
"Any time you can go .500 on the road, that's a good thing, especially in the playoffs," McMillan said. "We had a chance to get two, we got one, so we're happy with that. But there's another level we have to reach. We're playing to travel to the finals. They showed us how to win the game and move on." For that we have to reach another level."
Added McMillan: "We know we're better than this. The message to the team is that we should be able to take that next step, level up our game. That sense of urgency we're talking about Well, that team showed us that they are a really good team, and to be successful against them, we have to take another level."