Giannis notches another triple-double in the wire-to-wire victory
In a wire-to-wire victory that featured a Giannis Antetokounmpo triple-double, the Milwaukee Bucks handled business with a 130-115 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast Bucks In Six Minutes below.
What Did We Learn?
This was exactly what the doctor had ordered. Right out of the gates, their hot shooting propelled them to the separation that they’d hold for pretty much the rest of the game. Milwaukee started things with a 47-point first quarter. Against a team that’s been as hot as the Kings have and with the pace that they play with, you couldn’t have imagined a better start. Headed into the SEGABABA against a tough Orlando Magic team tonight, it’ll be imperative for the strong start to continue, along with the hot shooting.
Three Observations
The ball movement was spectacular.
This was what Doc Rivers attributed the strong start to. The run that Milwaukee embarked on featured numerous guys getting their fingertips on the ball and making an impact on the game. Not only was that 47-point first quarter a season-high, the 12 assists dished out in the frame were as well. Again, with a team that can run the score up in the blink of an eye like the Kings, it’s crucial to match their firepower and the Bucks did exactly that. The strong flow of the ball translated into made threes, which catapulted Milwaukee to a lead that they wouldn’t ever give up.
Defensive rebounding was on full display.
Domantis Sabonis is typically an absolute beast on the glass, but last night, he wasn’t able to inflict the same damage he typically does. He’d finish with ten boards, but was held to low numbers throughout the bulk of the game. Postgame, Doc complimented not just the bigs, but everyone. He said that they had practiced sandwiching and having other guys come over to assist and that it paid off. Looking at Sabonis’ stats, that’s only the second third time since December 3 in which he has been held to 10 boards or less. Very impressive.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to impress.
He was doing it all out on the court yet again, racking up another triple-double. When the dust settled, his stat line would read 33 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. Postgame, Doc spotlighted how the team is so much better when either he or Dame are facilitating the basketball — and he’s right. It really does open the door to so many different angles where Milwaukee can attack. Look at Brook Lopez and Taurean Prince in this one. They both buried several threes and really added force to Milwaukee’s offensive output.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Milwaukee’s offense was definitely the highlight of this one. The Bucks scored a season-high 130 points in last night’s game. The Bucks finished with 32 assists tonight, improving to 6-1 this season when tallying 30+ dimes.
- That was Giannis’ fifth triple-double and the 50th of his career. Antetokounmpo’s three 30-point triple-doubles this season are tied for the second-most in the league, while his 22 career 30-point triple-doubles are the seventh-most in NBA history.
- Damian Lillard scored 24 points in last night, marking his fifth straight 20-point performance. It’s his second-longest 20-point streak of the season (8 games, Nov. 20-Dec. 6), and he’s averaging 25.2 points and 6.0 assists per game since the streak began on Jan. 6.
- The Bucks’ bench also made some noise. AJ Green and Ryan Rollins scored 16 and 10 points, leading way for the bench mob’s 41 points. Green had his fourth-best scoring performance of the season, while Rollins tallied the fourth 10-point game of his career.
- Doc Rivers challenged up 20 with 3:18 left. As our writer Morgan Ross said in our group chat, absolutely cold.
Up Next
The Bucks now play against the Orlando Magic tonight at 7 p.m. CST. You can catch the FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin or stream it on our Playback and YouTube channels.
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