The Bucks beat the Knicks 112-97 on Sunday, but a bright spot for New York in the loss was the play of rookie guard Quentin Grimes, who in 40 minutes as a starter shot 9-of-17 from the field, including 7-of-13 three-pointers, for 27 points and three steals.
Here’s what Grimes said to the media after the game:
On if he could have dreamt of having such a big game in his first career start: “Not going to lie, I really didn’t. I found out about 90 minutes before the game started when we knew RJ [Barrett] couldn’t play that I was going to start. I just needed to keep my mind right and do it how I used to in college to prepare myself. It was definitely a surreal moment and I was just trying to soak it all in.”
On how the flow of the game was different being a starter: “It is just different when you start the game because you get into a flow a little bit. I felt like once I was out there and got into a flow, got up and down the court a little bit, I let my first shot go and I got comfortable. I felt like I was comfortable coming off of pick-and-rolls, pushing the ball, and with Thibs [Coach Thibodeau] he always preaches staying ready and he does a great job pregame every game of getting us ready, so I felt comfortable out there and it is a credit to him really.”
On what he learned today that will make him a better player moving forward: “I think that I can really play with these guys. They [Milwaukee] are the defending champs, they are not one of the lower seeds in the East, so I learned a lot more about myself going against the defending champs. I feel like I learned a lot about my game and I just need to keep improving day by day whether it is starting or coming off of the bench so that I can do what I can to help the team win.”
