Milwaukee Bucks: Player grades from Game 2 loss to Brooklyn Nets

C. No player particularly stood out for the Bucks in this beatdown, but Jrue Holiday was at least solid. Milwaukee’s starting guard finished with 13 points on an efficient 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. Although it did not matter given the end result, it was welcoming to see Holiday find his stroke offensively after struggling in Game 1. Fans are still waiting on Holiday to come alive in this series and be the difference-maker that this team ultimately envisioned, but that time has not come just yet. Hopefully this was a step in the right direction with adversity knocking on the door.. PG. Milwaukee Bucks. JRUE HOLIDAY

Milwaukee Bucks. KHRIS MIDDLETON. F. Game 1 was arguably the worst performance of Khris Middleton’s career, but he started making a case early in this matchup for Game 2 to take the mantle. Unable to find any rhythm whatsoever on the offensive end, Middleton began this game shooting 0-for-8 from the field. He looked downright terrible for most of the first half. Although he did find a groove as the game progressed, it was to no avail as he finished with a line of 17 points on 7-of-20 shooting, including 3-of-8 from deep. Also logging five turnovers, Middleton was virtually unplayable for a large portion of this game. While Middleton was certainly not the only Buck liable for the loss, all eyes have been on him after such an awful start to the series. One could not have predicted a worse two-game start for Middleton, and hopefully playing back home in Fiserv Forum can help relight the fire to get him going.. SG

P.J. TUCKER. D. Starting for the second consecutive game, P.J. Tucker did not have a massive impact in this one, but it is not like any other Buck did either. The forward finished with just two points and three rebounds in the contest across his 22 minutes played. Being tasked with guarding Kevin Durant, Tucker was in for a rough night as his opponent had everything dropping for him on the offensive end. Taking on Durant is a tall order on any given night, but the four-time scoring champion certainly caught fire last night and seemed unfazed by Tucker’s hounding defense.. .

D-. It was apparently clear that something was off with Giannis Antetokounmpo from the moment this game tipped off. He showed a lack of aggressiveness by not working his way towards the rim and getting his typical shots, instead settling for bad looks or a barrage of head-scratching 3-pointers with no shortage of time left on the shot-clock. While one could brush off his 0-for-3 shooting night from behind the arc, it was another inexcusable night from the free throw line for the two-time MVP. Giannis was just 2-for-7 from the charity stripe, which perfectly summed up his night, in addition to the three turnovers he added. Due to his size advantage over these Nets, Antetokounmpo must look to dominate this series close to the basket, which makes puzzling games like last night all the more frustrating.. PF. Milwaukee Bucks. GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO

D. Rounding out the starting lineup is Brook Lopez, who finished with 10 points on just 40 percent shooting from the field. Although he knocked down two of his three attempts from behind the arc, it was far from the big man’s best work. Like Antetokounmpo, the Bucks need the towering Lopez to work his way close to the basket and bully Brooklyn’s smaller defenders, but he was settling for contested jumpers all night long. Using Lopez as a spot-up shooter in this series when he has proven to be a force in the paint is not the way to go.. C. Milwaukee Bucks. BROOK LOPEZ