Following a tremendous bounce-back win over the Detroit Pistons, the Milwaukee Bucks were set to take on another division foe in the Indiana Pacers.
Having both missed the Detroit game, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday were set to return to the starting five. In a key game for the standings, the two All-Stars set the tone early and ended up making history by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo make history in Bucks’ win
After a slow start, Holiday quickly got things going and started scoring with regularity. Whether it was right at the hoop, behind the arc, or in the mid-range, Holiday was in a groove. The guard had 45 points at the end of the third quarter, which was five more points than his previous career high. Adding six more points to his total in the final frame, Holiday finished with 51 points on 20-of-30 shooting (66.7 percent) and notched the first 50-point game of his NBA career.
It should also be noted that Holiday had eight assists, so he was not just looking for his own shot.
Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo was certainly not slouching, as he finished with 38 points, 17 boards, and 12 assists to notch a triple-double. The Greek Freak was outstanding, having done just about everything in the victory. Scoring-wise, Antetokounmpo had one of his most efficient games of the season by shooting 14-of-18 (77.8 percent) from the field.
With their respective games, these two All-Stars made history. According to SportsCenter, the Bucks are the first team in NBA history to have a 50-point scorer and a player with a 30-point triple-double in the same game. What a way to make history. That’s a record these two might keep for a long time.
While Holiday and Antetokounmpo earned most of the spotlight, there were no shortage of other memorable moments in this game. Brook Lopez had another excellent game with 20 points while notching three blocked shots, and Grayson Allen threw down what may be the dunk of the year.
Following the win, the Bucks moved to 55-21 on the season and remain three games above the two-seeded Boston Celtics for the East’s top seed. The Bucks will play those very Celtics on the second night of a back to back in a game with massive seeding implications tonight.
Be sure to catch the action at 6:30 p.m. CST.