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Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts to his first duel with ex-teammate Jrue Holiday
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday were on the same court on Wednesday night. They were on the same hardwood but not as teammates anymore, and the Greek Freak couldn't help but feel odd.
"A weird feeling to play against him," Giannis said after he and Jrue went up against each other that saw the Milwaukee Bucks lose to Boston Celtics, 116-119, at the TD Garden.
Holiday struggled offensively against his former team, finishing with just five points on a 1-for-8 shooting from the field. He had only one assist and two turnovers.
Holiday, however, was still a big factor defensively as he took the role of defending Antetokounmpo and limited his former teammate to a 7-for-20 shooting for a 21-point performance.
From teammates to rivals
That was a solid job by Jrue on Giannis, considering that the Greek Freak was coming off back-to-back 40-point games.
It was the first meeting between the two former teammates, who played together for three fruitful years in Milwaukee.
Giannis and Jrue were instrumental in the Bucks' 2021 championship that ended the organization's 50-year title drought.
The Bucks traded Jrue to the Portland Trail Blazers in the offseason. From Portland, Holiday went to the Celtics, which means he will see Giannis and the Bucks more often in the regular season and even in the playoffs should they meet in the postseason.
Giannis admitted that Jrue's departure left a gaping hole in Milwaukee.
"Holiday is a great player, played in the league for a lot of years, winner, good teammate. So, you definitely lose that but at the end of the day, we have great players on our team that can step up and not only fill up that void and kind of carry that torch and do better," Giannis said.
Ready to move on
Holiday and the Celtics are off to a solid start this season. With the win over the Bucks, the Celtics seized the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference with a 12-3 record.
Milwaukee has recovered from a dismal start to the season. Despite the loss to the Celtics, they are still in second place with a 10-5 record.
While Holiday's departure was considered a big loss, his replacement has been somehow productive as Lillard is also putting up good numbers that allowed the Bucks to stay atop the rankings. For the season, Dame is averaging 24.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and a team-best 6.2 assists.
Milwaukee is badly missing Holiday's defensive tenacity, as it is giving up 117 points a night. Holiday's departure is surely a big loss, but Giannis said the team is ready to move on.
"Very tough that he's not with the team anymore, but life moves on, keep moving forward," Giannis said.
Perhaps seeing Lillard turn in more stellar games and more wins start to keep coming will make the process of moving on easier for the Bucks.
