Jrue Holiday #21 of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket against O.G. Anunoby #3 of the Toronto Raptors during the first half of a game at Fiserv Forum on January 17, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Stacy Revere/Getty Images/AFP
Jrue Holiday surpassed the season high he set a day earlier, scoring 37 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks downed the visiting Toronto Raptors 130-122 on Tuesday.
Bobby Portis recorded his 27th double-double of the campaign with 12 points and 12 rebounds for Milwaukee, which played its fourth consecutive game without Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee).
Holiday — coming off a 35-point performance in the Bucks’ Monday matinee win over the Indiana Pacers — eclipsed that mark thanks to 16-of-26 shooting from the floor on Tuesday. He engaged in a scoring duel with Toronto’s Fred VanVleet.
VanVleet matched his season high with 39 points one day removed from putting up 33 points in the Raptors’ overtime win at New York. He shot 6 of 12 from 3-point range, matching Holiday’s 50 percent shooting from deep, as Holiday connected on 5 of 10 beyond the arc.
Jrue Holiday becomes the first Bucks guard with back-to-back 35-point games since Michael Redd in 2006.
37 PTS | 6 REB | 7 AST | 2 STL pic.twitter.com/VwXIjOu4vs
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 18, 2023
The two delivered strong all-around games, too, with Holiday distributing seven assists and grabbing six rebounds. VanVleet finished with nine rebounds and seven assists.
Holiday and Milwaukee ultimately gained the upper hand thanks to its balance. Holiday led a group of six Bucks scoring in double figures, with Grayson Allen tying his season high of 25 points.
Allen shot 6 of 8 from the floor in the second half, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. He finished the contest 8 of 13 from the field.
Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez added 19 points and Pat Connaughton finished with 10. Joe Ingles came off the bench to shoot 4 of 5 from the floor, score 15 points, dish a game-high eight assists and grab six rebounds.
Gary Trent Jr. shot 4 of 9 from 3-point range en route to 28 points for Toronto, while Pascal Siakam added 23 points and nine rebounds. Scottie Barnes posted 14 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Precious Achiuwa scored 11 points off the bench, but the Raptors got just two more points from reserves as coach Nick Nurse used only eight players. The Milwaukee rotation went 10 deep, including 19:21 from Jordan Nwora, 13:38 from George Hill and 31:15 for Ingles as the Bucks won their second straight.
The Bucks led 44-34 after the first quarter but trailed 74-67 at halftime. Lopez scored 15 points in the third quarter and Allen added 14 as Milwaukee outscored Toronto 38-23 to grab a 105-97 edge. The Raptors got within one point three times in the fourth quarter but never regained the lead.