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Andrew LopezESPN
Milwaukee – Giannis Antikonmo He saw her coming.
The Milwaukee Bucks star was about to begin a postgame interview on the field when he saw teammates standing in the tunnel out of the corner of his eye. He knew exactly what they were planning, too.
With more teammates emerging, Antetokounmpo slowly began to fall back from the baseline all the way to his half of the field.
In the end, he accepted his fate and his teammates dunked him in the water to celebrate another impressive performance — 50 points and 13 rebounds on 20-of-26 shooting in just 30 minutes of action as the Bucks defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 135-110, on Sunday.
A post-game shower of water would normally be reserved for the locker room, but his teammates decided it had to be done on the field.
“We can as well do it in front of everyone,” the Bucks guard Jrue holiday He said. “It’s really just to show how much we appreciate him. For him to go out there and do it is great no matter how many times you score 50.”
It was Antetokounmpo’s fifth career 50-point regular season game and his second this month—the first time he had had multiple 50-point games in the same season. He had 55 points on January 3 against the Detroit Pistons. He also joins Joel Embiid As the only players this season with multiple 50-point, 10-rebound games this season.
Antetokounmpo scored 18 points in the first quarter as he got off to a fast start and never looked back. He had 29 points in the first half, tied for second in the first half.
Holiday said Antetokounmpo makes it look easy and knows exactly what to do when he makes a start like he did on Sunday.
“It’s an amazing time,” said Holiday. “Everybody’s kind of on his shoulders and we’re just getting along. At that point, we just have to back him up. If he passes it to us, shoot. But for the most part, we know who’s going to carry us.”
Bucks Center Brook Lopez He said when Antetokounmpo plays the way he has it is “fun to watch”.
“He came to court with his usual determination,” Lopez said. “He didn’t settle. He was reaching for the edge in ways he could and just finishing it. Those are tough ends, and he was still getting them done.”
Antitokonmo entered the fourth quarter with 35 points and was sitting at 44 points before he dropped 3 consecutive throws late in the fourth quarter, scoring 50 points.
He admitted he knew he was close to the fifty mark late on as he was racking up the three-pointers.
“I knew if I could get the rebound, I would shoot,” Antetokounmo said. “It doesn’t always work out, but it worked tonight. I didn’t hesitate at all. I was able to get my leg under my shot. I just stayed there and watched the ball go in.”
“It’s one of those moments you just can’t take for granted because you never know when you’re going to have those moments again.”
Antetokounmo immediately turned his attention to the Charlotte Hornets, who the Bucks play Tuesday night. The last time the teams played on January 6, the Hornets came away with a 138-109 victory.
That night, Antetokounmpo finished with just nine points and four rebounds on 2-of-7 shooting, a far cry from his effective night against the Pelicans on Sunday.
“Tonight I think 50 of 26 shots is impressive,” Bucks coach Mike Bodenholzer said. “All he’s done, his aggressiveness. A couple of 3s, especially late on. But he hits it really well. He feels like more catch and shoot is something that if we can create a few of those for him and build confidence in that area, keep hitting the line Free throws and working on that, those are the areas where he’s getting better.”