CLEVELAND, OHIO — By halftime, Jrue Holiday had more points (15) than he’d had in a game in nearly two months.
It wasn’t a coincidence.
Holiday, who was being guarded by Donovan Mitchell for much of the night, decided he wanted to come out aggressively in order tire out Mitchell, who’s been carrying an enormous offensive load for Cleveland throughout these playoffs.
“There were times where, rather than defer or do something (else), I just thought maybe attacking him might get him even more exhausted by the third or fourth quarter,” Holiday said.
It certainly worked. Holiday had his best offensive performance of the playoffs, finishing with 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. (For reference, the last time Holiday scored that many points was a 20-point outing on February 9th against the Wizards).
At the same time, Mitchell, who exploded for 23 first-half points, scored just 10 points in the second — and was held to just one basket in the fourth.
“I felt like he was a little gassed,” Holiday said. “It’s hard what he’s doing. What he’s doing is elite, to be able to put up that many points and so efficiently — and we’re making it tough on him.”
Both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum praised Holiday’s two-way performance in Game 3.
“Jrue is a dog,” Brown said, via CLNS. “Can’t speak highly enough about Jrue — just how he came and just dominated on both sides of the ball, but just made timely baskets.”
Brown said he’s routinely told Holiday to look for his own offense more, rather than just try to facilitate and find the team’s top scorers.
“Don’t be so caught up in trying to force it to one of our guys, just play basketball,” Brown said of the message he delivered to Holiday. “We should be good enough where we should be able to figure it out, and I feel like I’m at that point in my career, whether you call a play for me or not, I’m gonna figure it out.”
In turn, Holiday came out aggressive from the jump, scoring 15 in the first half to help propel the Celtics to a 9-point halftime lead, despite some wildly hot shooting by Mitchell.
“Jrue was amazing tonight,” Tatum said. “Jrue is kind of like the glue that keeps us all together. He literally does everything that we need him to.”
The offensive performance was timely given that both Derrick White (12 points, 4-13 FG) and Al Horford (2 points, 1-7 FG) struggled.
Jaylen Brown (28 points, 13-17 FG) and Jayson Tatum (33 points, 11-25 FG) contributed more than their fair share, but Holiday’s performance helped keep the game out of reach.
Jayson Tatum with high praise for Jrue Holiday:
“Jrue was amazing tonight. Jrue is the glue that keeps us all together. He literally does everything that we need him to. He sacrifices.” pic.twitter.com/5sMgkavGA6
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzellNBA) May 12, 2024
Entering Game 3, Holiday was averaging 8.1 points on 36.1% shooting across 7 postseason games — a significant decline from his regular-season averages of 12.5 points on 48% shooting. But with a renewed urgency on tiring out his defender, Holiday was more assertive from the jump, scoring 8 points in the opening period.
“He sacrifices — sometimes taking single-digit shots a couple games in a row,” Tatum said. “But in a night when he can attack the mismatches — he can post up guys, he can obviously shoot the three — when he’s being aggressive in that great rhythm, it makes us that much better.”
Joe Mazzulla echoed Tatum’s sentiment, praising Holiday’s two-way excellence in the Game 3 victory over the Cavs: “When he’s that impactful for us, we’re a different team.”
Holiday won’t have 18 points every night. He doesn’t need to. But the offensive tools that helped make him a two-time All Star — and score more than 15,700 career NBA points — are still there.
On Saturday night, with the Celtics trying to bounce back from what was likely the worst loss of the year, Holiday showed up.
“That’s the Jrue Holiday that we know and love, and we played against,” Brown said. “Tonight was just a masterclass from Jrue. What a game from him.”
