NBA – At the end of a real trench battle between two of the best defenses in the league, the Bucks, deprived of their “Greek Freak” but carried by a super Jrue Holiday (33 points), went to the end of the effort a 14th consecutive victory (104-101).
The NBA spoiled its European fans to wrap up the last weekend of February, with a magnificent poster, from 7 p.m. in France, between the Bucks and the Suns for a remake from the end of 2021.
Sans Giannis Antetokounmpo on one side neither Kevin Durant on the other hand, the match inevitably lost a little of its flavor even before the in-between, but the two clubs nevertheless offered a very good basketball match, given the unusual schedule and rarely a guarantee of good looks. show.
Clearly not a demonstration of attack (42% in shots for the Suns, 44% for the Bucks), because the two clubs delivered a duel of very high intensity in defense, which is not a surprise given that they belong to the elite of the league in this area this season (2nd best defensive evaluation for Milwaukee, 8th for Phoenix), the meeting thus tipped in favor of Milwaukee at the end of the game, when the men of Mike Budenholzer , after a short slump at the end of the third quarter and at the start of the fourth, limited their opponents to 7 points scored in the last five minutes to secure this 14th victory in a row.
Without the “Greek Freak”, it is Jrue Holiday who took things in hand (33 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists), well supported by Brook Lopez (22 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks) and a solid Chris Middleton off the bench (11 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Jrue Holiday en mode All-Star. Lieutenant of Giannis Antetokounmpo in normal times, the leader of the Bucks was the only boss of the Bucks, on both sides of the field, in the absence of the Greek. Brilliant in defense as usual, on Chris Paul and especially Devin Booker whom he limited to 24 points on 21 shots, he made the difference by his scoring in the last quarter, during which he only missed two of his seven shots. All-Star in Utah last weekend, he delivered a performance worthy of that status to keep his team’s winning streak intact.
– With their defense, the Bucks know how to win without the “Greek Freak”. Deprived of their best player and their colossal volume of play, the Milwaukee squad did find solutions thanks to their defense, the second best in the league, in an incredibly intense game on this side of the field. We particularly remember their reaction during the second half of the fourth quarter, after a big slump between the end of the third and the start of the last act which saw the reinvigorated Suns in attack take a 7-point lead (94- 87) five minutes from the end, when they raised their voices in their half of the field, limiting their opponents to 7 points scored until the final buzzer! In the momentum of the Jrue Holiday – Brook Lopez pair, which continues to establish itself as one of the very best in the league in pick-and-roll defense, the Bucks have thus proven, against a big team, that they could win, with such a defense, without their “Greek Freak”.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Brook Lopez. Very solid performance from the pivot of Milwaukee, fixation point in attack with his 14 points scored in the racket, and above all precious control tower in defense with his 4 counters and his always impeccable deterrence on the defense in “drop”, against a Phoenix team that loves the “mid-range” with Chris Paul and Devin Booker at the forefront of their attack. Not a “flashy” performance, but a performance that wins big games like this.
✅ Deandre Ayton. Very good match also for the pivot of the Suns, who like his Bucks counterpart got in tune with the collective on both sides of the field: 22 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks for the native of Nassau.
✅⛔️ Devin Booker. Muzzled in the first half, which he concluded with only 6 points at 2/10 on shots, the Arizona star back gained momentum after the break, notably with 11 points in the only third quarter, then two huge shots in the “money-time” to equalize twice. A costly loss of the ball in the dying seconds, caused (necessarily) by Jrue Holiday, unfortunately came to bitterly punctuate a correct match, but winded overall for him (24 points at 9/21 on shots, 8 assists but 4 losses ball).
THE FOLLOWING
– Bucks (43-17) : trip to Brooklyn, Tuesday night to Wednesday (1:30 a.m.).
– Suns (33-29) : trip to Charlotte, Wednesday night to Thursday (01:00).
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