Giannis Antetokounmpo goes off for 50 points against Pelicans

Milwaukee Bucks’ All-Star Captain Giannis Antetokounmpo went off Sunday night against the New Orleans Pelicans for his second 50-point game of the 2022-23 season. On the back of this performance, Giannis Antetokounmpo was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

Antetokounmpo has now played the New Orleans Pelicans twice this season and averaged 46 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Even more impressively Giannis shot 32-for-43 from the field (74.4 percent) in the two matchups, including 4-of-7 behind the 3-point line.

Antetokounmpo’s first 50-point game was his career-high, scoring 55 points against the Washington Wizards earlier this January. Both games ended in double-digit wins for the Milwaukee Bucks. What were the parallels between the two massive scoring outbursts? What were the differences? Let’s dive into the latest Giannis Antetokounmpo detonation.

Giannis Antetokounmpo 50-point games: What are the similarities?

Giannis Antetokounmpo has now scored 50 points twice in just the month of January; in both games, Antetokounmpo made 20 field goals. Giannis Antetokounmpo did also put up double-doubles in both games with 13 and 10 rebounds respectively.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 50-point, 13-rebound double-double Sunday night marked the sixth straight 30+ point double-double against the Pelicans, per Stat Muse. Over those six games, Giannis is averaging 39.5 points, 12.8 rebounds, and five assists against the Pelicans. From the field, in the last six matchups between the Bucks and Pelicans, Antetokounmpo has shot 85-of-132 from the field (64.4 percent) and 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) behind the 3-point line.

Giannis Antetokounmpo 50-point games: What are the differences?

Giannis Antetokounmpo has scored 50 points twice in a matter of 27 days, what are the differences from his scoring outbursts against the Wizards and the Pelicans?

Firstly, there is a difference in efficiency, absurdly, the game in which Giannis Antetokounmpo made 60.6 percent of his field goals was his less efficient 50-point game. Against the Wizards Giannis made 20-of-33 field goals, against the Pelicans Giannis made 20-of-26 field goals, one of the most efficient 50 or more point-scoring games of the entire 2022-23 NBA season.

The next difference in the two games for Giannis is his 3-point shooting, Sunday night against the Pelicans Antetokounmpo was sitting at 44 points with 2:06 remaining in the game, 28 seconds later Antetokounmpo had made two 3-point shots and raised his point total to 50, marking a 3-of-4 finish behind the arc for the game. Against the Wizards Giannis was 0-for-3 behind the 3-point line, which does underscore the impressiveness of his 55-point game against Washington.

The final difference in the two 50-point games for Giannis Antetokounmpo is at the free throw line. Giannis was fantastic against the Wizards, finishing 15-of-16 at the charity stripe, against the Pelicans Antetokounmpo did struggle at the line a little bit, but not a detrimental amount however. Sunday night Giannis made 7-of-12 free throws. What those struggles do translate to is that Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 43 of his 50 points from the field. Only Klay Thompson (two) and Devin Booker (five) have scored 50 points this season while making fewer than seven free throws in a game.

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