Living by those MVP standards
Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo served up a performance that’s been standard for his 2019-20 season Monday night.
Playing over 33 and a half minutes of action, Antetokounmpo finished with a game-high 33 points on 22 shots (2-for-6 from three, 5-for-12 from the foul line), 10 rebounds, eight turnovers, three steals, two assists, one block and was a +12 in the outing.
Combining forces with second-year Bucks guard Donte DiVincenzo, Antetokounmpo got off to a fast start on the night and quickly found success living in the paint to lay the groundwork for his 22 paint points on the night, nearly half of the Bucks’ 46 total points in the painted area collectively. And Antetokounmpo showed plenty of promise early on by knocking the first of his two triples for the game midway through the first quarter.
With that said, Antetokounmpo dealt with some struggles throughout the night, including his subpar shooting from the free throw line. That included one airball and it took until the start of the second half for Antetokounmpo to convert his first made free throw of the night.
And the 24-year-old’s battle with the way he’s been officiated so far this season arguably reached a new low Monday night where Antetokounmpo found himself in foul trouble late in the third quarter, with all five of his fouls coming on the offensive end. Between that and head coach Mike Budenhozler’s visible frustration with what has and hasn’t been getting called on Antetokounmpo, it may be best to leave it to Budenholzer’s words on this subject as Eric Nehm of The Athletic relayed after the game.
Me: In other games, we've talked about cutting out some of the silly fouls, the reaches, but it was five offensive fouls (for Giannis) tonight. Are you at a loss for what to tell him at this point on the offensive end?
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) November 19, 2019
Bud: Yes.
While we’ll see if that changes moving forward, Antetokounmpo certainly kept pace with his incredibly productive start to the season.