Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 105-98 Game 6 victory over Phoenix Suns

Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton make timely plays in Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 6 win

While Portis was doing the heavy lifting from the Bucks’ bench, Milwaukee needed all they could get from both Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, who had considerable more struggles from their performances in the Bucks’ Game 5 win.

Starting with Holiday, Jrue fell into another offensive slump just as he has done throughout this series and playoff run overall. More concerning was the poor decision-making Holiday showed with the ball in his hands and when looking to distribute the ball to others early on.

However, Holiday’s defensive presence was as impactful as it always has been and he was primarily stationed on Devin Booker throughout the night. While Chris Paul found his rhythm again with Holiday off of him, the same couldn’t be said for Booker, especially as the game wore on.

Despite the poor shooting and early miscues, Holiday fought through it all and helped steer the ship. He finished with 12 points on 4-for-19 shooting (2-for-7 from deep), 11 assists, nine rebounds, four steals and three turnovers in over 46 minutes of run.

As for Middleton, it wasn’t a matter of missing shots, though he was a little too careless in his playmaking at times. Instead, foul trouble throughout the first half nearly derailed his performance and while head coach Mike Budenholzer stuck with him after picking up his third foul, the Bucks didn’t to Middleton during that late stretch at the end of the first half.

So while Middleton had his hands tied in terms of having the keys to the Bucks’ offense, especially with Antetokounmpo going off throughout the second half, it was Middleton who hit the decisive shot with 56.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Middleton wound up posting 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting (1-for-4 from three, 4-for-4 from the free throw line), five rebounds, five assists, five turnovers and four steals in over 40-and-a-half minutes of run.

It was far from a perfect night for both Holiday and Middleton, but they fought through their struggles to enjoy the greatest victory of the playing careers.