The NBA has left the Milwaukee Bucks off the Christmas slate for the second straight year, but the league did throw them a bone with an MLK Day game. Tipoff will be 12 PM Central Time against the Hawks on January 19 as the first game on the schedule. While for most teams it does not carry the same hype or prestige as playing on Christmas, it is arguably no less an honor, perhaps the greater one. The Bucks have not taken the floor on MLK Day since 2019, but Giannis Antetokounmpo has already dropped a couple of gems in the holiday archives.
Giannis will look to augment Milwaukee Bucks MLK Day resume in 5th career appearance
All-time, the Bucks have gone 11-13 in MLK Day action. Their last appearance came in 2019 against Dallas, a 116-106 win that saw Giannis dominate all over the floor with 31 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists. Antetokounmpo would go on to win his first of consecutive MVPs that year.
Here’s what he has done in his other MLK games:
January 15, 2018, @ Washington, 104-95 W: 27 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks.
January 16, 2017, home vs Philadelphia, 113-104 L: 23 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals, fouled out.
January 19, 2015, home vs Toronto, 92-89 L: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals.
Giannis’s 20 rebounds in 2018 are among the most on the holiday, while his old teammate Damian Lillard holds the scoring record with 61 points in 2020 during his first stint in Portland.
Hopefully the Bucks can extend their winning streak to three this January 19, which would improve Milwaukee’s MLK record to 3-2 in games Giannis has played.
Following Bucks versus Hawks will be Thunder-Cavaliers at 1:30 PM CT, Mavericks-Knicks at 4:00 PM, and Celtics-Pistons at 7:00 PM.
On the road in Atlanta, Milwaukee has opened as a 5-point underdog in look-ahead betting lines. The total is set at 236.5. Only Dallas, travelling to New York, is subject to a larger spread, at +6.
It won’t be easy facing off against the new-look Hawks, who traded for Kristaps Porzingis and signed Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a one-time Bucks free agency target. At 47.5, Atlanta has the fourth-best projected win total in the East; the Bucks fall sixth at 43.5.
If both teams are healthy, it should be an entertaining matchup. Per Sporting News, the Hawks are 23-11 all-time on MLK day, the league’s best record by winning percentage.
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