Milwaukee Bucks 2017-18 Season Review: Giannis Antetokounmpo
By Adam McGee
Game of the season
A career-high in scoring would generally seem like a lock for a player’s game of the season, and on this occasion it also came with so much more to make it worthy of that status too.
In just the third game of the season, the Portland Trail Blazers made their sole visit to the Bradley Center and came up against the most phenomenal performance of Antetokounmpo’s relatively young career.
Having scored 37 points against Boston and 34 against Cleveland in the opening two games, Antetokounmpo went even better with 44 points on this occasion. Even more impressively, Antetokounmpo managed to rack up those points on just 23 field goal attempts, as he went 17-of-23 from the field.
Portland had no answer for Giannis as he was able to get to the basket at will, while he was also able to mix in short jumpers over smaller defenders. While the scoring efforts that led to his 44 points were dazzling, Antetokounmpo’s defense was just as important on this occasion.
Antetokounmpo only recorded two steals and a block, but it was the timing of them that was most significant on this occasion.
With the Bucks trailing by one with just over 30 seconds remaining, Damian Lillard drove toward the basket only to have his pocket picked by Antetokounmpo, who was instantly fouled on the way back up court. Antetokounmpo uncharacteristically missed two free throws, though, leaving his team right up against it again.
When play resumed, Antetokounmpo again managed to poke a ball loose, this time from CJ McCollum, with only 15 seconds remaining, and an ensuing dunk restored a Milwaukee lead.
With just 11.4 seconds left, the Blazers had one last chance to steal the win. A Lillard run pick-and-roll allowed the point guard to find Jusuf Nurkic rolling down the lane toward the basket, but Antetokounmpo came across for a stern rejection to close out the game.
Not only was it the game of Antetokounmpo’s career, but it was the moment that kickstarted meaningful MVP buzz around the Greek too.