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It’s hard to find things that Giannis Antetokounmpo — the two-time MVP and NBA champion — hasn’t done on a basketball court, but he reached a new high Friday night.
Antetokounmpo had his first 40-point triple-double – 42 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists – leading the Bucks past the Washington Wizards and to a sixth straight victory.
Defeating the Wizards, the team with the worst record in the NBA, may not be a usual reason to celebrate, but the Bucks fell behind in points in the first quarter and were in a close game most of time, coach Doc Rivers said. said it was the kind of game they lost early in the season. Here’s what Rivers said after the game, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
“I didn’t think we started the game well. We just came out and played and then we got into the game. But you get wins like this because these are the early season games that we would have lost. Games are good teachers for us.”
Most of this Bucks streak has come against a soft part of the schedule, although it started with beating an outstanding Houston team and includes wins over Indiana and Miami. Antetokounmpo has played like an MVP in recent weeks and the Bucks may not look like title contenders (their defense isn’t there yet), but they look like a good team. And it’s an important first step as the team awaits Khris Middleton’s return from surgery.
