3 Takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks’ thrilling win over Nets

The Milwaukee Bucks faced a tough test on Wednesday night, facing the Brooklyn Nets. It’s well-known that Brooklyn has assembled a talented team centered around Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Ben Simmons.

While Irving and Durant combined for 60 of Brooklyn’s 99 points, the Bucks did enough defensively, slowing down their role players to secure a 110-99 victory. These are the three biggest takeaways from the win.

Giannis Antetokounmpo can get whatever he wants for the Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo went into halftime with nine points; he finished with 43. A spectacular second-half performance from Antetokounmpo left spectators speechless regarding his performance.

Antetokounmpo looked like a completely different player coming out of the break for Milwaukee. Whether it was a fiery halftime pep talk or his desire to take over the game, Antetokounmpo did just that and made this game his. The Nets’ defense was no match for Antetokounmpo, who continued to attack seemingly every time the ball was in his hands.

Antetokounmpo scored 17 points in both the third and fourth quarters, finishing with 34 points in the second half alone. It was arguably the most dominant half of basketball of Antetokounmpo’s career.

Many talked this offseason as to what Ben Simmons’ role would be for the Nets. Almost everybody predicted that he would be a key piece of their defense for his versatility to guard multiple positions. Most figured that Simmons was brought in to create open looks for Durant and Irving offensively and hopefully be the guy that could shut down players like Antetokounmpo on defense.

If Simmons is their plan for shutting down Antetokounmpo, it may be time for them to find a different method. Simmons spent about six minutes guarding Antetokounmpo in the game, per NBA.com/stats. In those six minutes, Antetokounmpo scored 11 points on 5-9 shooting from the field and had three assists.

In fairness to Simmons, nobody on Brooklyn’s defense would stop Antetokounmpo with his determination on Wednesday night. The win and Antetokounmpo takeover was another example of what Antetokounmpo is capable of when he has an attacking mindset.