Following a gritty win against the Atlanta Hawks, the Milwaukee Bucks took a short flight for the first of two matchups against the Miami Heat on Thursday night.
On the second night of a back-to-back, the Bucks were without a few major components, but they put up a good fight against the Heat. The Bucks had a shot at winning this one, but the Heat came out on top as they prevailed with a 108-102 victory. Even though the Bucks were missing some of their main pieces, the Heat were too, and this one stings a little bit. Nevertheless, all the Bucks can do is look ahead to the matchup with the Heat on Saturday. Before then, here are three takeaways from Thursday’s loss.
The Milwaukee Bucks attempted a franchise-high 57 3-pointers in their loss to the Miami Heat
Without a handful of their primary shot creators, the Milwaukee Bucks were bound to struggle on the offensive end to an extent. The Bucks relied heavily on their long distance shooting, which was nothing new for them. However, they cranked it up a notch as 57 of their 87 shot attempts for the night came from long range. In the process, they shattered a nearly five-year-old franchise record. According to StatMuse, Milwaukee’s 57 3-point attempts on Thursday night were a new franchise high. They surpassed the previous high of 56 that was set against the Sacramento Kings in 2018.
All of the Bucks were letting it fly with confidence, including Jevon Carter, who shot a game-high 14 triples. Carter made six of those triples, coming in at a solid 42.9 percent for the game. It is no secret how much Carter has struggled to get going offensively lately, so it was welcoming to see him get going in a big way against Miami. A.J. Green followed with 10 attempts and five makes – more on his big night in a minute. Pat Connaughton and Jordan Nwora launched eight apiece, making two and four respectively. In total, the Bucks shot 22-of-57 (38.6 percent) from deep, which was a big bright spot of the game.
It will be fascinating to see how long it takes until the Milwaukee Bucks break this record again.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ youth was on full display against the Miami Heat with a pair of strong performances
With many mainstay rotational players missing for the Milwaukee Bucks, Coach Budenholzer had to dig deep into his bench and mix up his rotation. In the process, two young players who typically do not see much playing time put together some eye-catching performances against the Heat.
The first was Jordan Nwora. The forward had an incredibly quiet first half as he finished with zero points in 11 minutes. However, he kicked it into high gear in the second half by scoring 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-6 from behind the arc. As the game started to slip away in the second half, Nwora consistently kept the Bucks within striking distance by knocking down tough shot after tough shot. Nwora has not been a part of Milwaukee’s rotation for a while, but it was a good sign to see him take advantage when given the opportunity.
Another player who put together a promising performance was A.J. Green, Milwaukee’s undrafted rookie. Green scored a career-high 15 points versus the Heat courtesy of five 3-point makes on 10 attempts. With the second most 3-point attempts on the team, Green helped fuel Milwaukee’s big night from long range. Aside from a foolish foul that resulted in a 4-point play for the Heat, Green was great in his minutes against Miami. He continues to get playing time as a result of the Bucks missing several players, and he is undoubtedly taking advantage of it. Green has quietly proven to be one of the best 3-point shooters on the entire Milwaukee Bucks team.
It is a welcoming sign to see the young Bucks step up and produce when the team is shorthanded. Time will tell if these performances may help either player get more time in the Bucks’ rotation.
Jrue Holiday continued to make his All-Star case with another strong showing in the Milwaukee Bucks’ loss to the Miami Heat
With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton out, Jrue Holiday was the lone member of the Bucks’ Big 3 available against the Heat. While a several-game absence temporarily threw a huge wrench in it, Holiday has been building a legitimate All-Star case lately, and he continued to do so with a strong performance against the Heat.
Holiday led the Bucks with 24 points, having shot 7-for-10 from the floor, including 3-for-4 from deep. One might have wished that Holiday had been more aggressive, given that he was tied for the fifth-most shot attempts on the team but led them in points. Yet, Holiday was committed to getting his teammates involved, and it worked. He tallied 11 assists and notched yet another double-double in the process. With just three turnovers to go with those 11 assists, it was a solid showing all around for Jrue Holiday.
For the season, Holiday is now averaging 18.5 points and 7.2 assists per game, both of which are his highest in three years with the Bucks. The guard’s All-Star case continues to grow stronger as the days go by, and Thursday night’s outing should have raised his stock. At the end of the day, he and the Bucks want to win games, but it would be nice for Holiday to be rightfully recognized as an All-Star. Only time will tell if he can earn the honors for just the second time in his NBA career.
The Bucks will look to avenge this tough loss when they take on the Heat again on Saturday, and perhaps another big game from Holiday could help him build his All-Star case further.
Time will tell if the Bucks get a few of their typical rotational players back, but be sure to catch the early action at 12:00 p.m. CST on ABC.