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Jrue Holiday and the Milwaukee Bucks started strong but finished poorly in Game 3

Jrue Holiday was superb in the early goings of Game 3.
Matthew Dugandzic|
© Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

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Milwaukee Bucks

Strong start, but a terrible finish. That’s how things turned out for Jrue Holiday and the Milwaukee Bucks when they absorbed a 121-99 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 3 on Saturday night.

Holiday got off to a blistering start when he scored 10 points in the first 4:43 of the game.

He recorded his 10th point on a jumper at the 7:17 mark of the first period, a basket that gave the Bucks a 14-7 lead.

Fizzling out

For a while, it looked like Holiday was in for a big scoring night. But the first quarter ended with Holiday failing to add on his production, and the Bucks suddenly found themselves down by eight at the end of the period, 21-29.

Holiday’s scoring spurt to start the game turned out to be the only bright spot for the Bucks, as they couldn’t recover after ending the first period down by eight.

The Heat posted a 66-53 lead at the half and went to lead by as many as 29 in the second half to ice the win and a 2-1 series lead.

Holiday would finish the game with 19 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field. Even though he had five rebounds and three assists, he committed five turnovers in 36 minutes of play.

Poor second-half shooting

The Bucks went 10-for-18 from the three-point area in the first half, a decent shooting percentage that somehow kept them in the game.

Holiday went cold in the second half, as did the entire Milwaukee squad. The Bucks could only convert five of their 21 shots from three-point territory.

Milwaukee played without Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 3 as the Greek Freak missed his second straight game due to a lower back contusion.

Still, the outcome of the contest could have been different had Holiday and the Bucks been able to sustain their hot start.

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.