Milwaukee Bucks of America icon, Giannis Adetokunbo (Antetokounmpo) made hay once again in the early hours of Monday, as he slammed home 36 points in helping his side back to winning ways in USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) league.
Megasportsarena.com reports that ‘The Greek Freak’ was back at his very best and his team showed that they can still rally in the fourth quarter to win games with their defense, as The Bucks rallied to beat Los Angeles Clippers 105-100 for their fifth consecutive victory.
En route to winning a top performance vote for the encounter, Antetokounmpo also sparked a game-closing 9-0 run, as The Bucks led the NBA in defensive efficiency while posting the league’s best regular-season record each of the last two years.
The Bucks generally have not performed quite as well on defense this season but they stifled The Clippers down the stretch, holding their rivals scoreless over the final four minutes of the game and won for the first time in 11 games this season when trailing after three quarters.
Kawhi Leonard‘s potential tying 3-point attempt bounced off the front rim in the closing seconds, while Khris Middleton got the rebound and sealed it by making two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining.
After trailing by seven points in the fourth quarter, The Bucks regained the lead 101-100 when Antetokounmpo made two free throws with 1:57 left and, though The Clippers had the ball with a chance to take the lead on three separate occasions after that, they could not convert, while Paul George missed a contested layup with 1:35 remaining.
Leonard missed a 3-point attempt with 1:05 left. George missed a 3-point try with about 44 seconds left, after which Middleton found Antetokounmpo for a dunk to make it 103-100 with 10.3 seconds left and the Nigerian-born star high-stepped up the court in celebration as The Clippers called a timeout.
George, who had 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for The Clippers said afterwards that his side should have picked up the pace on offense down the stretch, as Serge Ibaka had 15 points and 11 rebounds, Lou Williams added 14 points, Donte DiVincenzo had 11 and Brook Lopez added 10 for The Bucks.
Antetokounmpo, who also had 14 rebounds and five assists, submitted: “It’s great when you go against the best in the world down the stretch. You’re trying to get a stop, and they’re trying to score on you to win the game. I love just taking that individual pride in guarding the best players.”
