It’s hard to find things Giannis Antetokounmpo — the two-time MVP and NBA champion — hasn’t done on a basketball court, but he reached a new high on 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 win.
Defeating the Wizards, the team with the worst record in the NBA, may not be a usual cause for celebration, but the Bucks fell behind at points in the first quarter and were in a tight game most of the way, a game coach Doc Rivers said was the kind they lost early in the season. Here is what Rivers said postgame, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
“I didn’t think we started the game out right. We just kind of came out and played and then we got into the game. But you take wins like this because these are the games early in the season we would have lost. These games are good teachers for us.”
Most of this Bucks streak has come against a soft stretch of the schedule, although it started with beating an outstanding Houston team and does include wins against 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 do look like a good team. And that’s a big first step as the team awaits Khris Middleton’s return from surgery.
