The Jrue Holiday Experience

Love was in the air yesterday. Enjoyers. Whether you spent time with your significant other or focusing on yourself, we’re all gathered here today because of a different kind of love, an infatuation with the beautiful game of basketball. It might not quite be a sappy love letter, but we’ve got you covered with all the latest happenings in the world of hoops. Let’s dive in.

Today’s Lineup

Hauser 🍀 and Holiday 🦌 Milwaukee and Memphis battle for Eastern Conference Supremacy

The Suns are Scary 😱 Phoenix dominates WITHOUT Durant

All-Star Heroics: How this NBA legend led the greatest comeback in All-Star Game HISTORY

PrizePicks

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Tuesday’s Hoops

Bucks edge injured Celtics in OT 131-125

What. A. Game. The Celtics (41-17) deserve all the credit in the world for the fight they put up in this one. Despite missing four of their five starters, Boston's bench came to PLAY. Blake Griffin had one of his best all-around games since leaving Detroit, Derrick White dropped 27 and 12, Malcolm Brogdon chipped in with 26 off the bench, and Sam Hauser came through with the shot of his life to send it to OT.

When it mattered most, however, the Bucks (40-17) stepped up and delivered. Giannis Antetokounmpo was his usual dominant self, but it was Jrue Holiday who truly stole the show. He tied a career-high with 40, got a clutch steal and score in OT, and capped it off with the game-winning three.

Box Score

Poeltl’s big night powers Raptors over Magic 123-113

Maybe the Raptors (28-31) really did only need a center to put it all together. New arrival Jakob Poeltl (30 points, nine rebounds, six blocks) was simply dominant today, using his physicality to bully the Magic’s (24-35) big men around the rim on both ends and setting rock-solid screens to get his teammates open. Just to put it in perspective, we haven’t seen a statline like that since prime Shaq.

Orlando showed signs of life on offense, namely from Wendell Carter Jr., Markelle Fultz, and Jalen Suggs, but they simply had no answer to Toronto's stranglehold on the paint.

Box Score

CP3 puts on a passing clinic in 120-109 Suns victory over Kings

You’re telling us the Suns (32-27) get to add KD to this team?

Phoenix looked completely in sync tonight. Deandre Ayton feasted down low with 29 and 11, Devin Booker dropped 32 without a single three, and a quick shoutout to Josh Okogie as well for showing why he deserves a starting role. But it was Chris Paul who was the maestro that orchestrated the whole thing. The Point God was dropping dimes left and right on his way to a season-high 19 assists.

The Kings (32-25) got another great game from De’Aaron Fox (that teardrop is unguardable) but just couldn't string enough stops together down the stretch to make this a close one.

Box Score

Kuzma dazzles, Sharpe posterizes, in Wizards 126-101 blowout win over Blazers

It might not have been a particularly close game, but the Wizards (27-30) and Blazers (28-30) battle in Portland provided some of the best highlights of the night. Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis took advantage of the Blazers' lack of size on the way to a combined 61 points, including a quite frankly ridiculous half-court heave from Kuz.

Portland got 39 and 10 boards out of superstar Damian Lillard, but they were really missing Jusuf Nurkic and Jerami Grant. Hey, at least you got to watch Shaedon Sharpe absolutely baptize someone. That’s worth the price of admission on its own.

Box Score

Clippers close strong to beat Warriors 134-124

What was so impressive about the Clippers (32-28) in this win was just how in control they were in the fourth quarter. The Warriors (29-29) scored just four points in the final five minutes of the third to dig themselves into a hole. And every time they tried to crawl out of it, Kawhi Leonard and Co. were there with a pointy stick to push them back in. The Claw came up big with 33 and a career-high seven threes, while PG and Norman Powell combined for an efficient 44.

Box Score

Monday Night Notes

What a Monday night of hoops that was! Shaedon Sharpe got bouncy while Damian Lillard put the ‘Logo’ in Logo Lillard to lead the Blazers to a convincing victory over the new-look Lakers minus LeBron James. Over in Minnesota, Anthony Edwards and Co. hung on against the new-look Mavericks thanks to some inspiring last-possession defense. Nikola Jokic put on an absolute post-scoring clinic, missing just two of his 14 shots in the Nuggets' win over the Heat. And it looks like Jalen Brunson might be taking that All-Star snub personally, dropping a cool 40 on the crosstown Nets in a Knicks W.

Elsewhere, Markelle Fultz blessed the United Center with a near triple-double as the Magic took care of business in Chicago. Brandon Ingram had one of his best games of the season, dropping 34 as the Pelicans won in OKC. A masterful performance from LaMelo Ball got the Hornets a morale-boosting win over Atlanta. The Cavs won comfortably over the Spurs as Donovan Mitchell sent Jeremy Sochan flying. Golden State made half their 40 three-point attempts in a nine-point victory over Washington, a smooth 29 apiece from Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson led the Jazz over the Pacers, and James Harden cooked his former team in a Philly win.

NBA History Spotlight

With a scoring title, MVP, and Finals appearance, the legendary Allen Iverson was truly at the height of his powers in 2001. So it makes sense that, lost among all those accolades, achievements, and iconic movements, his incredible performance at the 2001 All-Star Game sort of gets lost in the shuffle.

Remember, this was back before the All-Star Draft and at the height of the Western Conference's dominance in the post-Jordan era. Antonio Davis and Anthony Mason, the East's starting frontcourt that year, were both quality hoopers in their own right, but they were never going to stack up against the likes of Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and prime Chris Webber. Basically, the East had absolutely no business winning this game, even with AI.

So, when the West was up 95-74 with just nine minutes left, nobody was really surprised. But then, Iverson stepped up and took over. He scored 15 points the rest of the way, was a menace in the passing lanes, and seemed to float on air the way only prime AI could. When the buzzer sounded, the East came away victorious in an improbable 111-110 victory, the largest fourth-quarter comeback in All-Star Game history.

Frozen Moments

• 10-year veteran Mike Muscala picks up the first technical of his career in just his third game as a Celtic.

• Enjoy Basketball breakout candidate Markelle Fultz dunks all over Precious Achiuwa.

• The president of Iceland randomly pulled up to a Bucks game.

Good Reads

Luck or Lack? Exploring the Blazers' three-point offense vs. the Lakers - Nekias Duncan (Basketball News)

Why Scoot Henderson and his sister Moochie face different paths - Ben Pickman (The Athletic)

2023 NBA Mock Draft: Full 2-Round Predictions Post-Trade Deadline - Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report)

What We’re Enjoying

Clayton Crowley: An incredible storyteller with an encyclopedic knowledge of the game, Clayton Crowley has been making some of the most engrossing NBA content around over the past few years. If you’re looking for a deep dive into some of the greatest teams and players to ever grace the hardwood, you should definitely check him out.

Signing Off

That’s all from us today, folks! We’ll leave you with a lovely little tribute to basketball courtesy of Cameron Look. Now go out there and Enjoy some basketball! 💙🏀

Until next time,

-Spencer Poole

Trivia Answer: The answer to today’s trivia is the Greek Freak himself! Giannis has scored more than 9,600 points since the start of the 2018-19 season, over 400 more than any other player.

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