Milwaukee Bucks: Player grades from 111-96 Game 2 win over Orlando Magic

Guard. Milwaukee Bucks. GEORGE HILL. C+. A much quieter individual game for George Hill, but it was tidy and controled. Put simply, as his +11 in 19 minutes suggests, good things happened when Hill was on the floor for the Bucks. This performance encapsulated all of that, with good defense, help on the boards, and solid playmaking offensively. Hill remains one of Milwaukee’s most important players.

PAT CONNAUGHTON. A+. Have a game, Pat Connaughton. When the Bucks last dropped the opening game of a playoff series against the Boston Celtics last year, Connaughton was one of the role players who stepped up in a major way to help Milwaukee to get back on track, and to say he did that again on Thursday would be a colossal understatement. Pat’s shot has never looked more pure, perhaps indicating that his work with Korver in practice is paying off. All of Connaughton eight shots came from behind the arc, and he drained five of them for 15 points overall. Add in 11 rebounds, a couple of highlight reel defensive plays, some fantastic reads for assists, and this was undeniably one of the best games of Pat’s NBA career.. Wing. Milwaukee Bucks

DONTE DIVINCENZO. B. Signs of life from Donte DiVincenzo! After a horrid stretch since play resumed, this was certainly the closest to his form from earlier in the year that Donte has managed to get to. It wasn’t perfect as DiVincenzo again posted a negative assist to turnover ratio, but Donte at least got to see the ball go in the basket and actively helped the Bucks throughout his minutes. Hopefully those 11 points will give DiVincenzo a much needed confidence boost, but the way in which the Magic seemed to break out a pass rush whenever the ball landed in his hands is certainly evidence of how opposing teams will target him following his recent issues.. Guard. Milwaukee Bucks

C. A quiet night in terms of scoring for Marvin Williams, but good work on the boards gave him six rebounds. Williams slots in and plays his role incredibly well, and that makes for a nice luxury for the Bucks to have moving through these playoffs.. Forward. Milwaukee Bucks. MARVIN WILLIAMS

C. Some extended run for Robin Lopez, even if there isn’t a whole lot to show for it in the box score. It may not always be the case for him down the line, but there’s certainly a role for RoLo to play in this particular series.. Center. Milwaukee Bucks. ROBIN LOPEZ

KYLE KORVER. B. It might be flying a little under the radar at the moment, but Kyle Korver looks really good at the moment. Korver’s shot has looked in good order since the restart, and his activity level is a positive with the rest of recent months undoubtedly helping him. His nine points on 3-of-6 shooting was a real positive, and it will only spell good news if he can keep up those kind of performances in the weeks ahead.. Wing. Milwaukee Bucks

B. It wasn’t perfect for Coach Budenholzer, but it was a major improvement. Fouls and turnovers will be the major concerns for Bud and his staff, although the bulk of the latter came from offensive fouls and travels rather than the much more costly live ball variety. Clearly, the players had got the wake up call required from Game 1 and re-focused adequately to get the job done this time. Bud could still make life much easier for himself by simply cutting out the all-bench lineups right now, and ensuring at least one of Giannis, Khris, Bled or Brook are on the floor at all times. Those units need an offensive focal point, and some reps with that strategy now could make things easier down the line too.. Head Coach. Milwaukee Bucks. MIKE BUDENHOLZER