Wednesday’s Central Division matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers was pitted as an individual battle between two of the most dangerous scorers in NBA history in Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch for the Bucks too with a shoulder injury, which set the stage for the Dame Lillard show.
Lillard came way up short, though, finishing with just 17 points on 7-of-20 shooting as the Bucks suffered an embarrassing 135-95 loss at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Mitchell held up his end of the bargain with a 31-point eruption to lead the Cavs to their sixth straight win. However, it wasn’t the four-time All-Star who stole the show on Wednesday night. That honor belonged to 6-foot-7 power forward Georges Niang.
Milwaukee Bucks Had No Answer for Georges Niang
Niang looked like a man possessed on Wednesday as he came out with a career-best performance against a lackluster Milwaukee defense. The 30-year-old went off for a career-high 33 points on 13-of-14 shooting. He went 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, while also adding five rebounds and two assists in just 27 minutes of action.
Niang is no scrub, but he is far from an NBA superstar. The fact that he randomly exploded for a career-high speaks volumes of the Bucks’ defense on the evening. Or rather, the apparent lack thereof.
Georges Niang Sets NBA Twitter on Fire
Niang and his red-hot shooting night had social media buzzing hard. This comes as no surprise after seeing his heroics against the Bucks.
Georges Niang tonight:
31 Points
93% FG
83% 3P pic.twitter.com/4MSvXM43co— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 18, 2024
Georges Niang in 27 minutes:
33 PTS (career-high)
13-14 FG (!)
5-6 3P (!!)Had more points and threes than Dame. https://t.co/Rq97u7p1fX
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 18, 2024
Georges Niang tonight:
33 points
13/14 FGHe only missed ONE shot… insane 🤯 pic.twitter.com/tOMFWvA6CU
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 18, 2024
Georges Niang had a CAREER NIGHT in the Cavs’ dominant win over the Bucks 😱
🔥 33 points (career-high)
🔥 5 rebounds🔥 13-of-14 FG
🔥 5-of-6 3PTCavs win by 40 😳 pic.twitter.com/IXaM0yrnqL
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 18, 2024
Georges Niang finished tonight's win with 33 points on 13-of-14 shooting off the Cavs bench.
It's the best shooting percentage (92.8%) for a player who scored 33+ points in a game off the bench. pic.twitter.com/3CZ99wqypb
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 18, 2024
Georges Niang on a random winter Wednesday pic.twitter.com/5Lus5LGOSC
— G(rįžźGõät)🧣 (@grizzgoatsports) January 18, 2024
Georges Niang against the Bucks pic.twitter.com/ak0ko1hesg
— ¹⁰ (@HoodiGarland) January 18, 2024
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