Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 129-125 win over New Orleans Pelicans

Second takeaway from win over Pelicans — Donte DiVincenzo gives Milwaukee Bucks a career night

As much as Antetokounmpo and Middleton drove the Bucks to victory Thursday night, Donte DiVincenzo was the unsung hero all the way down to the wire.

DiVincenzo posted a career-high 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting (4-for-7 from downtown, 2-for-2 from the foul line), nine assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a block in over 34-and-a-half minutes.

The third-year guard has never been shy, but DiVincenzo married his confidence with the best scoring performance of his career. DiVincenzo was knocking down shots from both three and mid-range and he continued his strong run of finishing at the basket, especially against a well-built rim protector such as Steven Adams.

It was one thing to see DiVincenzo put in career night scoring the ball, but he gave the Bucks a much-needed operator on offense, especially with the Bucks down to both point guards on their depth chart. Keeping the ball moving as well as driving and kicking it out to open Bucks shooters helped DiVincenzo match his season-high nine assists and he did so with recording one turnover.

The 24-year-old did all of that while doing all of the little things like tracking back on the glass, picking up loose balls and absolutely skied to take away this layup attempt from Pelicans guard Josh Hart midway through the second quarter.

To cap off his brilliant night, it was DiVincenzo who drew a very timely charge on Brandon Ingram during the mad scramble down the stretch after Khris Middleton’s turnover on a late inbounds play.

DiVincenzo has showcased his steady improvement all season long and it was a thrill to see the Bucks guard enjoy such a breakthrough and complete performance.