The Milwaukee Bucks’ starting backcourt ultimately paved the way to victory as Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen stole the show
With Antetokounmpo and Middleton spectating, the biggest question entering the game was who would step up for the Bucks, and the answer quickly came in the form of the starting backcourt.
Jrue Holiday stuffed the stat sheet by notching 24 points, 10 assists, three boards, and a steal in just under 33 minutes played. The Bucks needed Holiday to take on a larger role offensively, and he did just that by shooting 10-for-18 from the field, including an efficient 3-for-6 from distance en route to his game-high 24 point game. Yet, the guard also did his share of orchestrating as he tallied a double-double with the 10 assists, making sure to get his teammates in on the action. Holiday did have some trouble handling the basketball as he did log six turnovers, three of which came in the fourth quarter alone. While that is certainly not ideal, Holiday made up for it with yet another strong overall game.
As for the other half of Milwaukee’s backcourt, it was a quiet first half for Grayson Allen as he had scored just three points on 1-of-3 shooting. However, the guard immediately flipped the switch in the second half as he scored 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc. When Allen catches fire like this, the best thing to do is feed him the ball, and his fellow Bucks did that throughout the second half. In total, Allen finished with 21 points on 71.4 percent shooting from three, which undoubtedly gave the Milwaukee Bucks a spark to win this matchup.
Holiday and Allen both stepped up for the shorthanded Bucks and ultimately set the tone in what turned out to be a hard-fought victory.
The Milwaukee Bucks will now hit the road for a showdown with the Memphis Grizzlies this Saturday and be sure to catch the action at 7:00 p.m. CST.