3 keys as Milwaukee Bucks look to continue win streak vs Indiana Pacers

It may have taken longer than we would have liked or expected, but the Milwaukee Bucks appear to be back. After a resounding win over the Denver Nuggets on the road (which, despite the Nuggets injuries, is no small task) which saw the Bucks never trail and lead by as many as 20 points, they’ve now won seven in a row and are four games above 0.500.

Now they’ll finish up this quick two-game road trip by visiting a division opponent, the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks have won five straight against the Pacers, dating back to the 2019-20 season. That includes a 119-109 win in Milwaukee’s fourth game of the season that put them at 3-1.

Jrue Holiday missed that game so this will be his first chance to play his brother, Justin, this season. The Bucks were also without Bobby Portis for that game and started Thanasis Antetokounmpo, so things will certainly look a bit different this time around.

The Milwaukee Bucks need to keep Jrue Holiday rolling against the Indiana Pacers

Prior to the game against the Orlando Magic, I highlighted Jrue Holiday’s struggles to score the ball after coming back from injury. Well, we’ve now seen the best three-game stretch of the season from the Bucks point guard, and things appear to be getting back to normal.

In his last three games, Holiday has averaged 18.7 points with a 65 percent true shooting percentage and effective field goal rate. He’s shooting 40 percent from 3 on five attempts per game and, unsurprisingly, he’s still pitching in outside of scoring, averaging 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

Holiday has been a combined plus-94 in those three games, showing his impact in all facets and just how important it is that he gets going for the Bucks. The 3-point shot is one of the biggest keys for his mini-hot streak. He’s shooting over 54 percent on pullup 3-pointers over his last three games after shooting under 30 percent earlier this season.

He’s also beginning to find his rhythm around the basket, shooting over 66 percent on his 12 attempts less than five feet from the basket, per NBA.com/stats. Part of that is playing against some weaker frontcourts (although the Magic have a solid frontcourt duo), but it could also be a sign he’s getting over his ankle sprain. Let’s see how he performs against a relatively stingy Pacers defense lately.