There were far too many moments in the Milwaukee Bucks 113-110 loss to the Brooklyn Nets where Giannis Antetokounmpo seemed to be the only player on the team trying to stay in the game. After getting out to an early 13-5 lead in the first quarter, Milwaukee fell into their bad habits of running a stagnant offense, settling for poor shots, and playing lazy defense.
As a result, Brooklyn stormed ahead to a commanding lead and lead the Bucks 66-54 at halftime. In the second half, they increased their advantage to as many as 24 points as Milwaukee continued their poor play for most of the second half.
That is, except for Giannis.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks Nearly Pulled Off a Miraculous Comeback
Even though his team was down by double-digits for the second game in a row, Giannis would not allow the game to get too far out of hand. The two-time NBA MVP put them on his back in the second half and, for the most part, kept the game within reach.
But with the Greek Freak on the bench for the first 6:10 of the fourth quarter, the Nets had their lead back up to 21 with 5:50 to play.
And then Giannis checked back in.
What followed was a 20-0 run by the Bucks in the final minutes of the game that cut the lead to just one with seconds remaining. Unfortunately, Antetokounmpo missed a contested layup with seconds left on the clock, a shot that was rebounded by Brooklyn.
After two free throws were made after the Bucks fouled with 6.1 second remaining, Damian Lillard’s three point attempt as the clock winded down fell short, and Milwaukee lost 113-110 to a Nets team that is now just 13-21 on the season.
The Bucks finish their season series against the Nets just 1-3 and are 17-15 on the season themselves.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Broke a Record Previously Held by Shaquille O’Neal and Zion Williamson
Giannis finished the night with 27 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and three blocked shots. He was 12/24 from the field, but a woeful 3/10 from the free throw line.
With his performance, though, he broke the NBA record for the most consecutive games scoring 20 or more points while shooting 50% or better from the field. It was his 26th straight game doing so:
NBA history for Giannis. pic.twitter.com/cgA1OY5iDN
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 3, 2025
As one can see from the graphic shared by the Bucks’ X account, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal and New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson each had a streak of 25 games with 20+ points on 50% or better shooting.
Karl Malone had a 20-game stretch with those numbers as well.
Damian Lillard had 23 points on just 6/20 shooting to go with three rebounds and seven assists. Khris Middleton added 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Off the bench, the Bucks got noteworthy contributions from Bobby Portis, who had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Gary Trent Jr., who had 10 points.
Unexpectedly, Pat Connaughton and MarJon Beauchamp received fourth quarter minutes while the Bucks were making their run. Their defense was a big reason why Milwaukee made the game as close as it was at the end.
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