The Milwaukee Bucks proved once again why they are the defending NBA champions. They came out victorious over the Boston Celtics in their hard-fought Game 5 battle Wednesday night.
While it was a team effort, things could have gone the opposite way if it wasn't for Jrue Holiday's late-game heroics on defense. With less than six seconds to play, the Celtics had an inbound pass and an opportunity to tie the game down 110-107. However, Holiday shut that down quickly, stealing the ball from Marcus Smart and letting the clock wind down to zero.
The play itself was impressive, but his explanation of it proves just how intellectually immersed Holiday is on defense. He explained the final moments of Game 5 to The Athletic.
“Jaylen came down to set the screen, and Pat was fighting him, but he was on the top side,” Holiday said, all quotes courtesy of The Athletic. “Once he was on the top side, I felt like Marcus felt like he had a way into the basket, the baseline, so I just went. I know he didn’t see Jaylen behind him just because of the angle he had.”
According to the Bucks guard, his instincts kicked in to seal the win in Boston.
“I didn’t want to hit it and make it go out of bounds; I wanted to keep it inbounds,” Holiday said. “I think it was just kind of…instinctual. It’s not like I planned it out or anything.”
Holiday and the Bucks will attempt to finish off the series with a Game 6 win Friday night at home.
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