Giannis drops 59 points in overtime victory
In a game where Giannis Antetokounmpo inflicted absolute destruction with a 59 point performance, the hobbled Milwaukee Bucks were able to defeat the Detroit Pistons in overtime, 127-120.
Once again, the Bucks featured a unique starting lineup due to injuries. Delon Wright, Taurean Prince, AJ Green, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brook Lopez served as the starting five to kick things off. As you probably expected, it was the Giannis Show in terms of the scoring. He fueled Milwaukee’s offense with 22 points in the opening quarter as Detroit took a 27-24 lead into the second period.
The lack of offense for the Bucks was very evident in the second quarter. They were simply unable to inflict any damage into the Pistons. On the other end, Detroit kept finding buckets. They were able to stack up a double-digit lead when halftime rolled around, 60-47.
In a chippy third quarter that saw Isaiah Stewart get tossed for pulling Giannis down to the floor by his jersey, Milwaukee made a run. A Brook Lopez 3-pointer near the end of the period gave the Bucks their first lead in ages, sending the ballgame to the fourth with a slim lead in their favor, 85-84. The Bucks closed out the quarter with a 21-7 run.
An entertaining fourth featured both teams packing punches on one another. A pair of late threes were traded by Taurean Prince and Marcus Sasser. Prince would then miss a three from the corner, giving the Pistons 1.2 seconds left on the clock. An pass to Ron Holland from the in-bounds play was then drawn up, only for Giannis to get his fingertips on it. However, Antetokounmpo fouled him, sending him to the line with a second left. Holland would then miss both free throws, sending the game into overtime at 111 apiece.
OT would started with a bang for the Bucks. A Brook Lopez three was then followed up by a Giannis Antetokounmpo three, granting Milwaukee an 119-111 lead, forcing Detroit to call timeout. He finished the game just as he had started it — by scoring the basketball. The Bucks would eventually prevail with a 127-120 victory.
Stat That Stood Out
Want to know how much of the offense went through Giannis in this one? In the first quarter, he was the only Buck to score a field goal. Only two other points of the 24 came from somebody else, and it was Brook Lopez at the charity stripe. Giannis leading the way remained the consistent theme for the rest of the game, as he concluded his night with a game-high 59 points. Just an absurd effort from him.
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