Entrance to the Milwaukee Bucks vs. Indiana Pacers game, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 20 or more points while shooting 50% or better in 24 straight contests – one of which was worse than the record of 25 set by Shaquille O’Neal AND Zion Williamson.
Tuesday marked the first time since the NBA Cup championship that both Giannis and guard Damian Lillard were hearty enough to take the court. But things didn’t start off well for either the large man’s bid or the star duo’s reunion show.
The first half was uninteresting for both players. Giannis hit one of four field goals for four points, four rebounds and three assists, and he ended the second half on the bench after committing his third foul with 2:45 left.
Lillard had even more difficulty finding a rhythm, dropping points while going 0-7 from the field and 0-3 from distance. As a team, Milwaukee shot just 4-20 on threes and was probably lucky to trail 64-53 when Khris Middleton’s buzzer bounced off the board.
Meanwhile, the Pacers shot over 50% from the field and got everyone involved. Each of the ten Indiana players who participated in the game made at least one bucket. Giannis would later break out and put his name on the stat sheet, but by halftime the Bucks didn’t have much to celebrate on New Year’s Eve.
The Milwaukee Bucks slowly come out of the gate in the second half
It looked like Giannis’ first game back from illness might be interrupted when, less than two minutes into the second half, he picked up his fourth foul after taking down the center, hopefully for the best.
But after 90 seconds, it didn’t look like Doc Rivers was going to pull his star, and the league’s leading scorer stayed out of foul trouble, got into the box and to the free-throw line, and did what he could to get through it. . Pacers trey storm.
It wasn’t enough to stop them from building a 19-point lead, 83-64, which forced Rivers to call a timeout for the Bucks, risking a loss for the third straight game.
However, the coach had to rewrite the correct formula in the group when his team went 12-0 in a spurt. Giannis made a few more, and Lillard finally hit one: a deep 3-pointer from the top with just a little space left. The next time he went to the floor, he splashed another one. It wasn’t a pretty score for Dame Dollar (3-14 for 9 points), but those two shots (and the shot clock buzzer as soon as it changed later) helped fuel a steady comeback that pulled Milwaukee within three seconds entering the final period .
Giannis is going crazy
Antetokounmpo scored 13 goals in each of the final two quarters, but it wasn’t until the fourth that he really felt like cooking. After a brief rest on the bench, he got to the hoop on his first offensive possession and scored an and-1, followed by a jackhammer dunk, backspin, single-leg elbow drop, and a 5-yard step-back over Pascal Siakam with 51 seconds remaining. In the end, he practically sealed the deal (117-110).
Milwaukee finished the game 120-112, and the game’s MVP finished with 30 points, 12 REBs and 5 ASTs. His 26 points in the second half made it 11-20 on the court, putting Giannis on Shaq’s coveted team in the NBA archives.
The 17-14 Bucks have a chance to exact revenge on Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets, who triumphed at Fiserv Arena last week and entered the season finale with a 2-1 advantage. This time, Giannis and Lillard should be on the sidelines, and the great player should have a chance to claim the record for himself.
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