"Brandon Jennings made a stunning playoff debut Saturday, but the rookie point guard struggled as the Milwaukee Bucks dropped a 96-86 decision to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 on Tuesday night at Philips Arena.

Jennings scored nine points on 3-of-15 shooting and had several shots swatted back in his face by taller Hawks defenders. He also struggled from beyond the three-point arc, hitting just 1 of 6 attempts.

"They're going to block some shots," Jennings said after the Bucks fell behind, 2-0, in the best-of-seven series. "Our main thing is we're going to have to start learning how to pump-fake a little bit more or even hitting the elbow jump shot.

"If we're going to go in there, we're going to have to try to dunk it."

Hawks center Al Horford and guard Joe Johnson blocked shots by Jennings in the first half, and he had two points on 1-of-10 shooting before intermission.

Jennings scored 34 points in the series opener as he aggressively attacked the Hawks' switching defense. But the Bucks guard was defended primarily by the 6-foot-7 Johnson on Tuesday.

"It's definitely tough because I'm fighting two or three guys," Johnson said. "You've got guys setting picks and I've got to fight over them and still guard him."

Hawks coach Mike Woodson credited Johnson with doing a good defensive job to complement his team-leading 27 points.

"All season long, Joe has been playing a lot of point guards, so he's somewhat used to it now," Woodson said. "He (Jennings) can shoot the outside shot as well as get to the rim."

Jennings and the Bucks will try to get something positive in the series when they host Game 3 against the Hawks on Saturday night.

"Brandon will be down tonight," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "He likes to play; he likes to win. And things didn't go well tonight."