Looking to avenge a recent loss and advance to the championship game of the Emirates NBA Cup, the Milwaukee Bucks took on the Atlanta Hawks in Las Vegas on Saturday.
It was a close contest throughout, with the lead changing seven times from start to finish. In the end, the Bucks did just enough to escape the Hawks. Milwaukee got the 110-102 victory to advance, and they will now wait to find out who their opponent is. Sticking with this win, Giannis Antetokounmpo's dominance was a major factor, as he continued adding to his legendary lore.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is in a class of his own in this regard
Per StatMamba, Giannis Antetokounmpo has the most games with 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and five-plus assists since the merger. To show just how much distance Antetokounmpo has put between himself and other competitors, since 2013-14, when he came into the league, Giannis has 138 of these games. The next closest player in that span is Denver's Nikola Jokic with 100.
Antetokounmpo added to this in the win over Atlanta, posting 32 points, 14 boards and nine assists, coming up just short of a triple-double. He commanded the game throughout, attacking down low or finding his teammates with a sweet pass to keep Atlanta's defense guessing. He was also a force on the glass with his game-high 14 rebounds, providing some needed intensity.
This feat doesn't even take into account the four blocks Giannis Antetokounmpo had in this contest. The Greek Freak had four of them, but none were more important than the one he had with 2:35 left to play. Clint Capela rose up for a dunk, but Antetokounmpo countered by rising up like it were the 2021 NBA Finals and met him at the summit for the swat.
It was one of those all-around games for Giannis where he reminds people who he really is, as if he even needed to at this point; the feat from StatMamba speaks for itself.
While he dominated, Giannis was not alone in this matchup, as Damian Lillard poured in 25 points, seven assists and three steals, while Brook Lopez snapped out of his recent slump with 16 points. Meanwhile, Atlanta's Trae Young had 35 points, while De'Andre Hunter and Jalen Johnson had 15.
The Bucks will now wait to find out whether they will play the Rockets or Thunder in the NBA Cup title matchup.
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