The return of Giannis
After being sidelined last time out following his latest rolled ankle incident, Bucks superstar Giannis returned to action in the team’s win over the Nets Monday night.
Playing close to 30 minutes of action, Antetokounmpo finished with 28 points on 9-of-23 shooting from the field (1-of-3 from three, 9-of-11 from the line), 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and was a +6 on the night.
The first three quarters was quite a struggle for the three-time All-Star as he noticeably lacked some explosiveness driving toward and loading up at the bucket. Combine that with Nets big man Jarrett Allen bothering the oncoming Antetokounmpo for much of that span and Antetokounmpo’s frustrations were laid bare for all to see on multiple occasions in the game.
It was in the fourth quarter when Antetokounmpo’s scoring fortunes completely changed as he found ways to slice open the Nets’ scrambling defense when getting back in transition and even cashed in a couple of jumpers, both from mid-range as well as one from long distance. That scoring outburst in the fourth quarter gave Antetokounmpo half of his 28 points for the night.
Even for as ordinary as he looked for much of the night, Antetokounmpo still manages to grind out flashes of brilliance and carry the torch for his team en route to victory in these rare instances.