NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

July 3, 2021

Jrue Holiday

Milwaukee Bucks

Game 6: Postgame

Milwaukee Bucks 118, Atlanta Hawks 107

Q. Jrue, just the other day you said how you haven't felt pressure at all since you were acquired but this is why they brought you here. So when you're giving that ball off and the seconds run out, did that hit you? I know there's more to do, but this moment.

JRUE HOLIDAY: Man, I don't know. This is the first time I've been in this position. Just, man, I've been so blessed over the last couple years, whatever, been going on, to be able to land in a spot like this to fulfill my dream. God's blessed me and put me in a position just to go to the Finals.

So I'm still trying to let it -- I mean, it's still sinking in and I'm trying to come down but I don't know, man, words can't really describe it right now.

Q. You and Khris, shots weren't going in the first half until Khris got hot in the third. What were they doing?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I think they were being aggressive and staying consistent. We went up early and we went up big but they stayed consistent. They stayed with the game plan and kind of really got back into it.

Our bench and everybody did a great job of keeping our composure. Me and Khris turned that thing over, weren't we? But at the end of the day, Khris carried us. Khris carried us there for a lot of it, just leaving his heart out there. Just kind of like if we're going to go down, we're going to go down on his shoulders. I'm riding with him, riding right into the Finals.

Q. I know for you two it's always be aggressive and attack, but what was it like to hear that message and see Khris put it in?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I mean, as professionals, I feel like we have to make adjustments and make adjustments in Game 6 and that’s what we did. The turnovers in this game are crucial, and you feel it more than any other game.

You know, the hardest game to win is the close-out game. But I think being able to make adjustments like that and get the win, it was great.

Q. This journey, what has the whole roller coaster been like to try to get here?

JRUE HOLIDAY: Man, it's been -- it's a story that I get to tell my kids, and it's a story I get to tell people and that's one of the coolest things. Playing against the Heat and what we did against them; and then coming back against Brooklyn, one of the most talented teams in the league, or ever, honestly, against one of the best, what, top three of the greatest scorers of our game; and then a great Atlanta team, a young team but that have some crucial players. Lou Will to me is their X-factor. If he's on and playing well, they are hard to beat. They are a tough team. I'm glad to see everything they have done.

And this is really exciting for me. Like I don't really miss it or feel bad for them but I'm really happy.

Q. What does this feel like?

JRUE HOLIDAY: It feels awesome. Again I'm still kind of on this high, but I'm going to the Finals. It's cool to think that as a little kid, this is what you watch the playoffs for. This is all the moments that I felt as a little kid watching TV, I lived them and went through them and now I get to go to the Finals and see what this is about.

Again, man I'm just -- I'm ecstatic.

Q. You have a Finals game in two days. What do you think of the Suns?

JRUE HOLIDAY: Tough team. They play hard. They play together. They play fast. Have a lot of talent at every position. They guard the ball very well. They guard the three pretty well, too. So definitely a team that I feel like is similar to us at every position, very, very talented and somebody could just go off for a great game. And they have got their boy Book [Devin Booker], over there, too. It's going to be fun.

Q. You won these games without Giannis and everyone is going to be asking if he's going to play; how is it going to be to prepare for this biggest stage not knowing if or when he'll be able to go?

JRUE HOLIDAY: Honestly, I think we'll take it a day at a time. We'll go look at the film and try to lock in, lock into our matchups and see where we can take advantage from there, knowing Giannis, he'll probably be back at some point in the series.

But we've just got to prepare like this is it, and this really is it. This is the last seven games. So we've got to try to go out there and prepare the best way we can.

Q. For the last few seasons, it's been, can Giannis get this team to the Finals, and I know he had a large role in it, but in the moment you get there and he's not on the court playing, what was his involvement over the past couple days he hasn't been playing, and was there any concerted effort on your end or the team's end to make sure he was involved?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I guess I'll start with your second question. It wasn't any effort from us. It was all Giannis. This is probably the most I've seen Giannis talk, like the whole game. I know usually when he's on the court and he's running, racing through five people and blocking shots, I mean, you're tired. He's tired and he's playing.

But man, he's motivating everybody, he's motivating me, telling me to push the pace, telling me to keep being aggressive and telling me to lock people up. I feel what he brought to the game today and how he led us -- again, he is pretty quiet, but how talkative he's been has been awesome for us and very, very encouraging.

Q. What's the balance of letting this sink in a little bit longer and then knowing it's only two days? Bud was like, well, we've done a lot of long layoffs, so now let's try a short layoff.

JRUE HOLIDAY: I guess, give me the flight. Give me the flight home, back to Milwaukee and then once we touch down we got to prepare. I don't know when we leave. I'm guessing we'll leave pretty soon, leave soon to Phoenix. I guess a couple hours. We've got this flight and then we've got to lock back in.

Q. What were some of the keys to this happening?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I think we're always even keel? Even with Giannis going down, it's a shock to everybody, but I think once we -- I'd say probably after that loss, everybody was pretty disappointed in ourselves. We felt like that was a crucial game and we felt like it was an opportunity lost. After that I felt like we were locked in, and knew we had the crowd and the energy but we were also disappointed with how we started the game and that's something we can control.

Just came out aggressive tried to punch them in the mouth first.

Q. There's a lot of talented players in today's game but the attention kind of goes to a select few. Almost seems like you've been under the radar for the past couple of years. Do you feel like on a personal level that you're opening eyes around the league to how good you are and that you're not just underrated but you're very deserving?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I'm here to win. None of that stuff really matters to me. I think being put in this position to win and to have a chance to make it to the Finals and take advantage of that is what I'm here for. I think accolades from my teammates and the players around the league, they know what's up. They are in the trenches with me. They know what it takes to fight and to claw, and if I get the respect from them, that's all that really matters to me.

Q. I know you've only been with this organization for one year now, but you have invested in this City of Milwaukee. I don't know if you've seen the sites of what the Deer District looked like tonight or what it's looked like all postseason, but do you get a sense of what this means to this fan base for you guys to be going to the Finals for the first time in 47 years?

JRUE HOLIDAY: You know, I think I do. Just walking around Milwaukee, talking to people that I've become very close with there, they have definitely expressed how important it is for us to make it and how encouraging they have been. Just been so long this city hasn't been to the Finals, and again for them to bring me in and be a part of it is a blessing in itself. But I would definitely say the fans and the interaction with the fans, they have made it known that this is just as important to them as it is to us.

Q. There's a short list of players in the history of the game who are capable of scoring 23 points in a quarter in a game this big and 16 straight for their team. What is it that puts Khris Middleton in that echelon?

JRUE HOLIDAY: He's been doing it. He's the type of player that, again, he puts all the weight on his shoulders and doesn't care. He's like, come on. I think between him and Giannis being here the longest, them being a part of this program and them leading this team, I feel like everything that happened last year and the previous years, people always talking about how they didn't have enough or how they didn't do this or do that; I feel like Khris, man, he's been that person. He's been that guy. It's really cool to see him be part of it. One, he's getting assists and that's good for me, but the way that he plays and scoring 20 points in multiple quarters of multiple games is something that I can tell my kid that I've witnessed, and when I go back and watch the film, I can tell them I was out there fighting with him. Again, Khris is the heart of this team. I feel like Giannis is the soul of this team, and without them, man, we really wouldn't be here.