“Thriving Without Me;” Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Praises Bench After 114-108 Win

The Milwaukee Bucks improved to 40-30 on the season with their 114-108 come-from-behind victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night. Fans who turned the game off/went to bed early may have been surprised to see Milwaukee in win column after their dismal first half, which saw them tie their season-low for points scored in a quarter with 17 in the opening period.

Indeed, the offense (once again) got off to a slow start. The Bucks did not even make a single three-point shot in the first quarter, going 0-5 from behind the arc in that period. But something changed in second half, and that change came from the player Milwaukee needed it from the most.

Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Scored 22 Points in the Third Quarter

The Bucks went into halftime trailing the Kings 61-49. Giannis Antetokounmpo had just nine points and the team was not playing inspired basketball with him on the court.

And fans were noticing:

I seriously don’t know what’s up with Giannis this is the weirdest stretch since 2023

— GiannisMuse 💫🦌 (@GiannisMuse) March 23, 2025

Giannis been on a generationally bad run lately https://t.co/hwqRtBtKs2

— Drake Maye lover (@GP_CC3) March 23, 2025

Giannis leaving the bucks huh this most disinterested I ever seen him in his whole career this season

— KWON🌹 (@Aceboykwon) March 23, 2025

But that listless attitude got fixed in the third quarter. “I just said f— it,” he said after the game. “I gotta be aggressive.”

And aggressive he was, scoring 22 of his 32 points in the third quarter. By the end of the game, he also had 17 rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block.

But he only scored one point in the fourth quarter after playing all 12 minutes of the third. In order to seal the victory and complete the comeback, Milwaukee needed their bench to play well.

And it did.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Praises the Milwaukee Bucks Bench

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers only used four players off the bench on Saturday night: Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., Pat Connaughton (for two minutes), and AJ Green.

But Porter and Trent did what they needed to do, especially in the fourth quarter. Porter finished the game with 18 points, three rebounds, and six assists. Trent had 11 points and two steals.

“Thriving without me,” Antetokounmpo said when asked about the bench’s effort to survive with him resting by Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “That’s what you want your bench to do. You want them to come in, score the ball, bring energy, defend the right way, keep the momentum going. And not just keep the momentum, they started the momentum for us.”

Indeed, the bench trimmed Sacramento’s first half lead all the way down from double-digits to three without Giannis. But when the superstar checked back in, the Kings went on another run.

While the Greek Freak should certainly be praised for his second half heroics and leading the Bucks back, it was the bench who kept them in the game in the first place.