Jae Crowder still got the nod to start on Sunday for the Milwaukee Bucks despite the return of Khris Middleton from a 16-game injury layoff. Crowder remained in the starting lineup because of the fact that Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch, which also meant that the former had to put in some extra work against a powerhouse Phoenix Suns side.
Crowder responded by logging 18 points on Sunday, which is the second-highest scoring tally he’s recorded all season long. Needless to say, the 6-foot-6 swingman was integral to Milwaukee securing a hard-fought 140-129 victory against the Suns.
Milwaukee Bucks’ Jae Crowder Sounds Off on Key Defensive Play Vs. Kevin Durant
Crowder, who drained four triples in 32 minutes of action, wasn’t just a key player for the Bucks on the offensive end. The 33-year-old also flexed his defensive prowess on the opposite side of the ball as he matched up against Suns superstar Kevin Durant, who had a miserable outing on Sunday, finishing with just 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting.
At one point in the game, Crowder was at the heart of what he calls a “momentum play.” He forced a turnover on KD late in the third quarter, which saw both men hitting the deck. The Bucks were able to recover the ball, which led to a Patrick Beverley trey. That gave the Bucks a 69-53 lead and forced the Suns to call a timeout.
Crowder, who held up three fingers aimed at the direction of the Suns bench as he walked past them, spoke about the savage moment against his former team in his post-game interview:
“It’s a momentum play,” Crowder said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “That’s what I felt when you saw me slapping the ground. Just momentum. I felt like the momentum was going our way big time and I just tried to make a play. Obviously [Durant is] a hell of a scorer, I just tried to make it tough, make it physical a little bit for him and I was able to come up with the steal.”
Crowder Sounds Off on Damian Lillard’s Heroics
While Crowder may have had his moments in the game, it was Damian Lillard who ultimately carried the torch for the Bucks. The eight-time All-Star torched their opponents with 31 points, while also matching his career-high in assists with 16 dimes.
For Crowder, it was Lillard’s playmaking that proved to be the difference for the Bucks on Sunday:
“It opened up everything,” Crowder said of Lillard’s passing. “You have to worry about him every night but when he gets downhill and taking two or three defenders and catching the weakside passes and we’re making these guys pay, I think it opens up our offense a lot. I think it gives him more freedom at the top to play one-on-one instead of seeing double teams off the pick-and-roll, and I think we just rolled with that action. We did a great job of just playing through him the whole entire game.”
Crowder was one of the biggest beneficiaries of Lillard’s big night, and the veteran forward will be hoping for more of the same the rest of the way.
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