The Milwaukee Bucks recently defeated the New Orleans Pelicans at home by the score of 141-117. In their convincing win, which saw the end of the Joe Prunty interim era, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and two steals. In addition to Giannis’ star play, three other Bucks players scored 20 points or more.
Damian Lillard had 26 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and two steals. Brook Lopez was on fire from behind the three-point arc, scoring 24 thanks to 6/9 shooting from three. Bobby Portis was dynamic off the bench, scoring 20 points in 22 minutes of play.
It was the second straight game against the Pelicans in which the Bucks won in blowout fashion dating back to last year. However, the first time saw Giannis shoulder the bulk of the scoring load without having much support. Comparing the two games, it is easy to see how general manager Jon Horst has improved the roster from last season to this one.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Drops 50 Points, Leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a Win over the New Orleans Pelicans (January 29, 2023)
On January 29, 2023, the Bucks defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 135-110 to improve to 33-17 on the season and 20-5 at home. By comparison, this year’s team is now 32-14 and 21-5 at home.
In the game in 2023, Giannis scored 50 points on 20/26 shooting, including 3/4 from three and 7/12 from the free throw line. He added 11 rebounds and four assists.
He did not have much support from a starting lineup that featured Jrue Holiday, Lopez, Pat Connaughton, and Grayson Allen. Holiday scored 17 while Lopez added 15. No other Bucks player reached double-digits. Khris Middleton, who was working his way back from injury, came off the bench and scored nine.
Of his performance, Giannis said that he hoped that he can keep on having performances like this so that he can show his kids highlights one day when they are old enough to understand and appreciate what he is doing:
“They might say, ‘Daddy, you’re boring. You’re lame. We don’t want to see your highlights. We’ve heard so much about you. We want to watch Scooby-Doo’ or whatever the case might be,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m just going to keep creating the way people in the past created, the way I can go back and watch Magic Johnson highlights, Kevin Garnett highlights, Kobe Bryant highlights, Allen Iverson highlights, KD’s, LeBron’s. They’ve created so much art throughout the years, and we can go back and see it and admire what they did. Tim Duncan.”
Additionally, Giannis said after the game that he wants to soak in performances like this because “you never know if you’re going to have that moment again.”
According to Statmuse, Giannis has scored over 50 points three times since that game. The first came just days later on February 2, 2023 against the Los Angeles Clippers when he scored 54. The other two came against the Indiana Pacers this season, the second of which was the game in which he set the franchise record for points in a single game with 64.
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