There is nothing quite like sibling rivalry – a blood-sworn competition that can be as intense as any but is generally for little more than bragging rights. Imagine that as an NBA player and there you have the situation faced by three of the four siblings in the Holiday family. The three brothers – Aaron, Justin, and Jrue – just completed another chapter in their rivalry.
The Atlanta Hawks took down the NBA’s last undefeated team, the Milwaukee Bucks, in convincing fashion with a 117-98 victory despite being without Trae Young (shin) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee).
Their victory was a sign of their depth, to paraphrase Dejounte Murray who came two rebounds away from his second triple-double of the season.
But it also gave the Hawks’ Holiday brothers a feather in their collective cap.
Brothers Aaron and Justin Holiday achieve milestone in Atlanta Hawks win
Hawks wing Justin Holiday, 33, is the oldest of the trio – some 14 months older than 32-year-old Bucks guard Jrue Holiday. 25-year-old reserve Aaron Holiday joined the Hawks along with Justin this offseason. It is their second stint together after playing with the Indiana Pacers for two seasons, notably, under Hawks head coach Nate McMillan.
But, for the first time in their careers together, Aaron and Justin were able to notch a victory over Jrue.
They had been 0-for-6 before this.
Jrue still has a winning record against Aaron (2-1) and Justin (11-4) when facing one or the other. His Bucks also notched the first meeting between their teams earlier this season in Milwaukee.
But being able to say that he was undefeated against the two of them together had to be a different advantage during family gatherings.
Aaron started in place of the injured Young and needed the free-throw line to get half of his four points. But he also finished with five assists and was a plus-14 — the highest plus-minus of all Hawks starters in the game.
Justin was timely from beyond the arc, knocking down four of his seven looks on his way to 14 points.
Holiday to Holidayyyyyyy pic.twitter.com/U2rte3UD6F
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 8, 2022
Jrue had 16 points, seven assists, and six boards but also turned the ball over eight times.
The Hawks’ Holidays were largely afterthoughts this summer as many questioned how effective the re-tooled bench would be. But the group ranks fifth in offensive rating and is still expecting to get Bogdanovic back at some point. When that will be is unclear, per McMillan, as Bogdanovic recovers from offseason knee surgery.
Aaron and Justin will get a chance to turn this into a streak in short order when the Bucks host the Hawks on November 14.