The Milwaukee Bucks trounced the New Orleans Pelicans during the NBA’s Sunday slate, 135-110. New Orleans was very shorthanded for the game as they played without Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, and Zion Williamson remained sidelined.
Leading the way dominantly was Giannis Antetokounmpo. He took full advantage of the Pelicans being short-handed, as they had no answers for the Greek Freak. Antetokounmpo scored 50 points in the game, which was the fifth time he has reached that number in his career in the regular season and the second time this month.
Right from the opening tip-off, it felt like Sunday was going to be another special day for Antetokounmpo. He got off to a hot start and never cooled off, making 20-of-26 shot attempts, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. It only took him 30 minutes to score his 50 points, as he added 13 rebounds and four assists for a full stat line.
Point guard Jrue Holiday spoke very highly of the performance. He scored 17 points of his own to go along with seven rebounds and six assists.
“It’s a great time,” Holiday said. “Everybody just kind of gets on his shoulders and we’re just along for the ride. At that point, we just got to support him. If he passes it to us, make the shot. But for the most part, we know who’s going to carry us.”
LATEST NBA NEWS: Giannis Antetokounmpo & Milwaukee Bucks Updates
Big scoring nights are becoming commonplace for Antetokounmpo. He has scored at least 30 points in 24 out of his 39 starts this season as he remains arguably the toughest player in the NBA to slow down on any given night.
“Tonight, I think 50 on 26 shots is impressive,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Just everything he did, his aggressiveness. A couple 3s, especially late. But he’s shooting it well. Feels like a few more catch and shoots is something if we can generate a few of those for him and build the confidence in that area, keep getting to the free throw line and working on that, those are areas where he’s improving.”
While the performance on Sunday was an impressive one, he was already turning his attention to the Bucks’ next opponent, the Charlotte Hornets.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Giannis Antetokounmpo & Milwaukee Bucks Updates
Despite having one of the worst records in the NBA, Charlotte found a way to slow Antetokounmpo down in their last meeting as he scored only nine points in a 29-point blowout loss. You can be sure he will want to exact some revenge for that game, as back-to-back 50-point performances would be a nice feather in his cap.
Discussion about this post