Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from thrilling win over New York Knicks

Even when he struggles all night, Giannis Antetokounmpo delivers for the Milwaukee Bucks

The Knicks clearly emphasized slowing down Antetokounmpo right out of the gates in this game. They wanted to see anyone else on the Bucks rise to the occasion and beat them, as the MVP was met with countless blue and orange jerseys down low whenever he took it inside. The Knicks have an assortment of big bodies to make things challenging for Antetokounmpo, and they put it to the test last night.

This swarm of Knicks made it a tough scoring outing for the Greek Freak, as he finished with just 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Due to New York’s persistent defense on him, Antetokounmpo had to trust his teammates more, which proved to be the right decision as he racked up eight assists in the game. The two-time MVP has always been a solid playmaker and facilitator, but he is taking it to new heights this year, and this game against the Knicks displayed it to perfection. As always, he was also a force on the glass by pulling down 15 rebounds.

Despite his sizeable struggles offensively, Antetokounmpo finished with a team-high +21 on the night. Everyone knows how important he is to this Milwaukee team, especially without his running mate in Khris Middleton and man in the middle with Brook Lopez. Antetokounmpo has taken on a larger responsibility in this stretch, and his game is consistently improving. Still, he cannot be the MVP each and every night, and his teammates will have to take on a larger workload on occasion, which is precisely what happened last night.