The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 136-113 last night. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 35 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. Jrue Holiday added 21 points, six assists, four rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Jordan Nwora added 23 off the bench. It was a game that Milwaukee controlled for most of the night, never really leaving a doubt that they would win. Much of that was due to the dominant play of Giannis, who notched his second triple-double of the season. I took a closer look at his numbers and found some very interesting facts.
#1- Giannis Has 27 Career Triple-Doubles
Russell Westbrook and his high volume of triple-doubles have taken some of the mystique away from the accomplishment. However, it is a stat line that is still difficult to achieve. Giannis’ 27 career triple-doubles are the most in Milwaukee Bucks history. That is nothing new. The next closest Bucks player on the list is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had eight in his time with Milwaukee.
What is most interesting about this triple-double, though, is that it moved Giannis past Lakers legend Elgin Baylor for 19th on the NBA’s all-time triple-double list. Next up is Michael Jordan, who had 28 in his career.
#2- All of Giannis’ Assists Came on Three Pointers
Giannis had 10 assists, and each of them came on a three point shot made by one of his teammates. That means that besides his 35 points, Giannis was responsible for 30 more points off of his assists. 65 points out of 136 came from a play Giannis made.
I cannot find another instance in NBA history where that has happened before. This may have been the first time a player logged a triple-double in which all of the assists were on three-pointers made.
#3- The Fun Facts Behind the 35-16-10 Stat Line
Triple-doubles seem to be happening more and more often, but the 35-15-10 stat line does not come around very often. This was the first time in Giannis’ career that he had numbers like that in a triple-double. However, it was just the 52nd time in NBA history that a player had at least 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists.
As Justin Garcia noted, that was also just the fifth time in Bucks history that any player had 35-15-10. Kareem Adbul-Jabbar did it three times and Terry Cummings did it once. What makes Giannis doing it all the more special, though, is that Giannis only played 32 minutes of the game. That is less than three full quarters. What this man is doing this season is special.
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow me on Twitter at @theotherAdams14 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!
