Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 115-108 victory over Toronto Raptors
By Dalton Sell
Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaway No. 2 from victory over Toronto Raptors – Backcourt impacts without scoring
While Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez all had big games offensively, it was a different story for the other two starters. Donte DiVincenzo and Jrue Holiday have been known to go cold periodically this season, and this game against the Raptors was certainly one of the more apparent performances.
DiVincenzo finished with just eight points in 26 minutes, shooting an abysmal 2-of-9 from the floor and 0-of-5 from 3-point territory. Aside from an authoritative slam over Toronto’s Yuta Watanabe early in the fourth quarter, it was another rough night for DiVincenzo on the offensive end.
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However, much like when he does when he struggles to put that ball in the basket, the guard looked to make an impact elsewhere on the floor. Donte grabbed three rebounds, three assists, and two steals while bringing that relentless energy defensively as compensation for his shooting woes.
It was more of the same for his running mate in Holiday, who also had himself a cold night shooting. He finished with just seven points in the game, shooting 3-of-14 from the floor and 0-of-8 from behind the arc. It was just his second game of the season, finishing short of double-digit points, and it comes after a recent five-game hot streak.
That is not to discredit Holiday entirely, however, as he did make a clutch shot at the basket to give the Bucks a 111-105 lead with just over 40 seconds left. It was another welcoming showing of what the veteran can do for this team down the stretch in tight ballgames, and it was certainly welcoming. Still, it was certainly an off night shooting the ball, but Holiday made sure to make his presence felt elsewhere.
Scoring aside, Holiday finished with seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals, just one turnover, and was a team-high +16 on the night. Jrue has previously shown the impact he can have when he is not scoring, and Wednesday night was a perfect example.