Entering the Milwaukee Bucks’ game with the Indiana Pacers, Giannis Antetokounmpo had scored 20 or more while shooting 50% or better in 24 straight contests–one shy of the record 25 shared by Shaquille O’Neal and Zion Williamson.
Tuesday was also the first time since the NBA Cup championship that both Giannis and guard Damian Lillard would be healthy enough to take the court. But things didn’t start on track for either the big man’s bid or the star duo’s reunion showcase.
It was a clunky first-half for both of them. Giannis shot one-of-four from the field for four points, four rebounds and 3 assists, and finished the half on the bench after picking up his third foul with 2:45 to go.
Lillard had an even harder time finding a rhythm, going scoreless on 0-7 from the field and 0-3 from distance. As a team, Milwaukee shot just 4-20 on threes and were probably lucky to trail 64-53 as Khris Middleton’s buzzer heave smacked off the backboard.
Meanwhile, the Pacers shot over 50% from the field and got everyone involved. Each of the ten Indiana players who entered the game made at least one bucket. Later, Giannis would erupt to print his name in the stat books, but at halftime, there wasn’t much for the Bucks to celebrate on New Year’s Eve.
Milwaukee Bucks Remain Slow Out of the Gate in Second Half
It looked like Giannis’ first game back from illness might be cut short when he picked up his fourth foul not two minutes into half number two, after knocking down a middy to hopefully get things going.
90 seconds in, it wasn’t like Doc Rivers was going to pull his star, though, and the league’s leading scorer stayed out of foul trouble, got into the paint and to the free throw line, and did what he could to weather the Pacers’ storm of treys.
It wasn’t enough to keep them from running up a 19-point lead, 83-64, forcing Rivers to call timeout with the Bucks in jeopardy of losing their third game in a row.
Coach must have prescribed the right formula in the huddle, however, as his team came out on a 12-0 spurt. Giannis canned a few more, and Lillard finally got one to go: a deep three from up top with just a glimmer of space. Next time down the floor, he splashed in another. It wasn’t a pretty box score for Dame Dollar (3-14 for 9 PTS), but those two shots (and a shot clock buzzer-beater as soon as he subbed in later) helped sustain the steady comeback that pulled Milwaukee within three entering the final period.
Giannis Goes Bonkers
Antetokounmpo scored 13 in each of the last two quarters, but it was in the fourth that he really got cooking. After a short rest on the bench, he got to the rim on his first offensive possession for an and-1, which was followed by a jackhammer dunk, a fall-a-way turn-around, a one-legged elbow fade, and a 19-foot stepback over Pascal Siakam to essentially seal the deal, 117-110, with 51 seconds left.
Milwaukee closed it out 120-112, and the game’s MVP finished with 30 PTS, 12 REB, and 5 AST. 26 second-half points secured an 11-20 performance from the field that puts Giannis in Shaq’s coveted company in the NBA archives.
The 17-14 Bucks have a chance to avenge themselves Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets, who triumphed in Fiserv Arena last week and enter the season series finale with a 2-1 advantage. This time, Giannis and Lillard should be off the sidelines–and the big man should have a shot to claim the record for his and his alone.
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