In the wake of a calamitous Game 1 against the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks didn't look at themselves in the mirror. What you see in a mirror doesn't always give you a full picture, especially of things that happened outside of that moment.

Instead, they sought truth in looking over the game film of Sunday's debacle.

"Film don't lie," point guard Eric Bledsoe said. "People can say what they want; once it gets on film they can see what really happened."

What the Bucks saw was a version of themselves that looked nothing like the prior 86 games.

They were sluggish with a lack of urgency, damning traits for a playoff game. The ball got stuck on offense, and the defense surrendered open look after open look. MVP front-runner Giannis Antetokounmpo looked powerless against Boston's size and traps while his supporting cast was anything but supportive, with players missing open shots – or worse – being hesitant of taking them.

"I think as a team we didn't compete as hard as we could compete" Antetokounmpo said, "and we have to be better going into Game 2."

Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Fiserv Forum will be the most critical game played in Milwaukee in nearly two decades. If the Bucks can't rebound from a 22-point loss, they could find themselves watching as a magical regular season gets flushed down the drain.

Things have to change if the Bucks are going to even the series before it shifts to Boston. There's no question about that. Everyone at the Bucks' downtown practice facility Monday would agree with that point.

However, the Bucks are not inclined to believe major changes need to be made. The consensus from their point of view is they've been successful all season and can continue to ride those habits and schemes to future success. They contend the issue on Sunday was they got away from who they are, not that their scheme and management are flawed.

“I think when we’re us that’s when we’re at our best," said coach Mike Budenholzer, who noted the Bucks failed to meet their standards in Game 1. "I think sometimes adjustments and all those things are actually somewhat overrated."

Antetokounmpo was even more forceful with his words. When asked about the need for noteworthy changes – adjustments to the rotation, playing time, etc. – Antetokounmpo shook his head and repeatedly dismissed the notion out of hand.

“Definitely not," Antetokounmpo said. "We’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year. I think there should be no change at all. Why should there be a change after a game that we lost?

"We should not be the team that makes the adjustment even though we lost the first game. We’re just going to come out and play our hardest, see how Game 2 goes. If it doesn’t go well for us, then you can think about adjusting. But right now, we’re not adjusting nothing. We’re just going to be us.”

Make no mistake, the Bucks will make changes. The first of which will be addressing their flat start to the series.

There were plenty of instances Sunday where players failed to run the floor. Instead of keeping up with the fast pace that served them well in the regular season, the Bucks looked content walking the ball up the court. When someone pushed in transition, teammates didn't always join the run. As the Celtics rose for shots, all too often a contest or help defender was late or nowhere to be found.

As the Bucks watched film on Monday, they saw those lapses from themselves as well as teammates. According to Bledsoe, Budenholzer "chewed them out" with honest critiques. As players, they know they need to be better about putting forth effort as well as policing each other.

"You watch tape, and you see who don't play hard enough and you go talk to them and tell them, like, 'Does your body hurt? If yes, OK, you got to go and tell the medical staff and they can help you feel better,'" Antetokounmpo said. "'If it doesn't hurt, then you've got to play harder.' You just have a little conversation with your teammates and you figure it out, and you make them play hard. That's what you can do."

Bledsoe, who for the second postseason in a row all but disappeared against the Celtics, pointed the finger back at himself as someone who didn't rise to the moment. He went just 1 of 5 from the floor with six points, four assists and two steals in just 25 minutes in the loss.

“It was effort," Bledsoe said. "We wasn't playing our game, I wasn't in attack mode, getting into the paint, finding my teammates.

“We know what it takes. At some point, we knew we was going to have a tough match with someone. Unfortunately, it came in Game 1. All we can do is bounce back, do what we been doing all season long."

Antetokounmpo, someone rarely derided for a lack of effort, got a rare phone call from his older brother, Thanasis, in the wake of Sunday's loss. The message from Thanasis, who had a cup of coffee with the New York Knicks in 2016 and now plays professionally in Greece, was that Giannis has to play harder. It's the same message that Giannis says he received from Budenholzer.

But when it comes from family, it means something different. Something more.

"No. 1, I play for my family, so when my family comes and says, 'Giannis, come on, man. Come on. You've got to go. You've got to be the aggressor, make the right pass.' That kind of stabs you in your heart," he said. "But at the end of the day, it's the truth, and I know they're going to always tell me the truth, Coach Bud will tell me the truth and got to go out there and put a smile on your face and have fun and play as hard as you can."

Winning Game 2 will come down to more than just more effort. The Bucks have attempted to force teams into mid-range shots all year, but the Celtics feature plenty of strong mid-range shooters and ate them alive from that area – and everywhere else – Sunday. Milwaukee will still live with a long two-pointer over a layup or an open three-pointer, but the Bucks recognize the need to pressure shooters more often and recover faster off screens.

Additionally, the Bucks must get more out of everyone around Antetokounmpo. While Antetokounmpo didn't have his best game – shooting 7 of 21 including just 4 of 16 on two-point shots – the rest of the team didn't offer enough help.

He knows the Celtics are going to keep denying him in the paint, opening up opportunities for him to kick out to teammates. He's committed to being more patient and exploiting those opportunities, but the Bucks will need those shooters to both let shots fly and make them at a higher clip than Game 1.

"I don't want to say pressure – that's the wrong word – because time and time again we've had guys step up when people aggressively guard Giannis and accept that role willingly and do their job," said center Brook Lopez, who was 1 of 5 shooting Sunday. "We're aware that other people are going to have to step up and do big things. It's been the same way all year long."

The Bucks have watched the film. They've recognized and owned their shortcomings. They know there's plenty of series left to get out of the corner they've backed themselves into.

Monday's practice wasn't gloom and doom by any stretch. After doling out a tongue-lashing in the film room, Budenholzer was out on the court chasing Bledsoe, drawing laughs from everyone there.

Milwaukee, which lost successive games only once all season, has taken solace in the habits they built during the regular season as well as the belief they can't be worse than they were in Game 1.

"We're going to go out there and compete as hard as we can, put some effort and energy into it," Antetokounmpo said. "I can't promise we are going to win the game, but we are going to play hard."