On a mission
Whether they were leading like they did for much of the first half or when he was trying to give his team a lift during their frustrating second half, Giannis Antetokounmpo was determined to keep his team in it Friday night.
Seeing the floor for 35 and a half minutes of action, Antetokounmpo finished with a team-high 32 points on 21 shots (1-for-6 from three, 11-for-14 from the foul line), 12 rebounds, six assists, two turnovers, one steal and was a -11 on the night.
Antetokounmpo came out firing on all cylinders as he rampaged towards the rim with a variety of tough and-one finishes and the occasional rim-rattling slam. As the Bucks searched for ways to kickstart their offense following their hot start, Antetokounmpo struggled to find his shooting stroke from long distance just as he had done in their first meeting with the Lakers back in December.
Despite his efforts to fire away when given plenty of space to do so, Antetokounmpo remained lethal when finishing at the rim, especially as he was used as a screener in pick-and-rolls to get him rolling to the rim as well as to the foul line. And that led us to the scariest moment of the night when Antetokounmpo fell over a lying Avery Bradley on a point-blank attempt and tweaked his left leg, which he quickly clutched.
The 25-year-old would finish out the game in what remained from that point, but there were a few moments were Antetokounmpo looked to be moving gingerly. Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer relayed Antetokounmpo’s assurance that he was fine following the scary fall and will continue to consult with the Bucks’ medical team, per ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
After Giannis Antetokounmpo took a scary fall in the fourth quarter that left him clutching his knee, Mike Budenholzer said he thinks Giannis is “okay.” Budenholzer said he will speak to the team’s medical staff after speaking to reporters.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) March 7, 2020
Giannis Antetokounmpo said that his knee is “good.” He was wearing a compression sleeve on his left leg and was limping around the locker room. He also got three stitches in his lip after the game.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) March 7, 2020
The Lakers did a fine job in trying to slow down Antetokounmpo, but he proved to be too much and was central to the Bucks’ comeback attempt during the fourth quarter. Considering the stakes, the game flow and level of pressure leveled at him, you couldn’t ask for a better performance from Antetokounmpo, all things considered.
His starting supporting cast on the other hand…