Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 122-121 loss to Golden State Warriors
By Dalton Sell
Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton provide optimism in the Milwaukee Bucks’ defeat
With Antetokounmpo out of the lineup, all eyes deferred to Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday to step up against the Warriors. To their individual credit, both had fantastic games that ultimately were not enough in the end.
Fresh off of earning his first Eastern Conference Player of the Week nod and signing a massive extension with the Bucks this past weekend, Holiday was once against stellar in this one. The veteran guard finished with a team-high 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Although he racked up an appalling eight turnovers on the night, Holiday was consistently scoring at will while also tallying five assists in his 34 minutes of burn.
Right behind Holiday was Middleton, who finished with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, including 2-for-4 from deep. Along with having the hot hand shooting the ball, the forward showed off his improved playmaking as he tallied seven assists as he worked persistently to get his teammates involved in the action. However, he also piled up the turnovers in the process, finishing with five on a night where he made several questionable decisions with the basketball.
Excluding a combined 13 turnovers between the two, Middleton and Holiday did everything to keep the Bucks in this one until the closing moments. With Brook Lopez and Donte DiVincenzo providing minimal contributions offensively by combining to shoot a lackluster 5-of-17 from the floor, Milwaukee needed every bit of it from their top two guys with Antetokounmpo not in the mix.