3 takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks’ dominant win over Chicago Bulls
By Dalton Sell
With Khris Middleton sidelined, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday both stepped up for the Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks would take the court against the Bulls without Khris Middleton, who was a scratch due to left wrist soreness. With the three-time All-Star out, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday took charge of this game and paved the way for a Milwaukee victory.
Holiday was sensational in this one by scoring a game-high 27 points on 12-of-17 (70.7 percent) shooting, consistently attacking again and again. Yet, when he was not scoring the basketball, the floor general was finding the open man as he also handed out seven assists, tied for a game-high with Chicago’s Zach LaVine. A significant chunk of this scoring and facilitating was done in the final quarter, where Holiday scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and handed out two assists. Holiday’s clutch heroics have been on full display since the All-Star break, and he closed yet another game in Milwaukee last night.
Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo was right behind Holiday as he tallied a monstrous double-double by scoring 25 points on 9-of-12 (75 percent) shooting and hauling in 17 rebounds. Though he did not put on a scoring clinic as some might have expected with Middleton out, Antetokounmpo clocked in an incredibly efficient outing as he dominated Chicago’s defense when he attacked. Elsewhere, the Greek Freak also handed out five assists, and his defense was beyond impressive to go along with it. Having notched three blocked shots and one steal, Antetokounmpo made his presence felt on that side of the ball from start to finish.
The biggest knock on Antetokounmpo is that he logged a grueling nine turnovers in this matchup, having made a handful of head-scratching decisions along the way. However, despite his turnover frenzy, the Bucks still managed to win by 28 points, which is what ultimately matters.
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Holiday and Antetokounmpo will be back in action for the Bucks this coming Thursday when they take on the Washington Wizards. Be sure to catch the action at 7:00 p.m. CST on Bally Sports WI.