Jrue Holiday emerged victorious against his former team on Friday night, as the Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 111-105 at TD Garden. In Holiday’s postgame press conference, he was asked about going up against his former teammates and kept it real.
“I love em’, it’s great seeing them,” Holiday said. “But every time I play them, and probably even more so because they’re like my brothers, I wanna whoop their a** every time and they know that too. They feel the same way about me. It’s just about being competitors.”
Holiday had one of his best scoring games of the 2024-25 season against the Bucks, finishing with 20 points, five rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block. The 34-year-old was quite efficient too, going 7-14 from the field and 4-9 from beyond the arc.
Holiday has now scored 20 or more points in a game twice this season and they’ve both been against the Bucks, the team he spent three seasons with from 2020 to 2023. The two-time All-Star scored 21 points when the Celtics beat the Bucks 119-108 on Oct. 28 and there is no denying he ups his game when he gets to play against them.
Holiday has helped the Celtics sweep the season series against the Bucks, as they’ve now won all three meetings between the teams. The latest win saw the Celtics improve to 19-4 on the season and they’re looking like the best team in the NBA yet again.
As for the Bucks, they dropped to 11-11 in 2024-25 with this loss. Their decision to trade away Holiday in 2023 to acquire Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers certainly hasn’t paid off so far and I’m sure there is some regret over making that move. The Celtics sure are glad they did it, though.
Jrue Holiday Defended The Bucks’ Decision To Trade Him
Holiday made it clear that he was caught off guard by the Bucks trading him away, but he understands why they did it. During an appearance on Run it Back, Holiday defended the Bucks’ decision to trade him for Lillard.
“I’ve been traded before as an All-Star from Philly to New Orleans,” said Holiday. “So it wasn’t like it was that much of a shock but I understood the business of it. On paper, that trade, adding Dame, 10 out of 10 people, who wouldn’t make that trade? That’s just how it goes, that’s how the business works and again, it’s still early in the season.”
I am not sure 10 out of 10 people would have done it, but most would have. The NBA is a superstar-driven league and when a team has a chance at landing one, they usually go for it.
Unfortunately for the Bucks, Lillard hasn’t had the kind of impact they anticipated he would when they landed him in a three-team trade with the Trail Blazers and the Phoenix Suns.
Holiday, meanwhile, has had the kind of impact the Celtics expected him to when they acquired him from the Trail Blazers. He helped them win it all last year and I wouldn’t be surprised if they defend their crown. This win over the Bucks made it three in a row for the Celtics and they’ll look to extend that streak when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies next at TD Garden on Saturday at 8 PM ET.
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