Tuesday night was a big one for the Milwaukee Bucks and their superespstar player, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks defeated the Indiana Pacers to snap a two-game losing streak. Antetokounmpo, the two-time league MVP and reigning NBA Finals MVP led the way, scoring 50 points.
5️⃣0️⃣ PIECE FOR GIANNIS!! pic.twitter.com/UjN15kxOjV
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) February 16, 2022
https://twitter.com/Bucks/status/1493791367276941317
Giannis Antetokounmpo had his 3rd career 50-point game in the regular season, the 2nd-most in Bucks history, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10). pic.twitter.com/w8SW2M0kLi
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 16, 2022
And it wasn’t just a high-scoring night for Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak was efficient with his points and hauled in 14 rebounds for good measure.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was simply UNSTOPPABLE in the Bucks' win over the Pacers 😱
50 points
14 rebounds17-of-21 FG
2-of-3 3PT
14-of-18 FT pic.twitter.com/8ejd9E1So7— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 16, 2022
Giannis Antetokounmpo tonight:
50 Points
14 Rebounds
4 Assists
81% FG pic.twitter.com/6dYZgQG4pV— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 16, 2022
That had people remembering Antetokounmpo’s last 50-point game, which came in Milwaukee’s championship-clinching Game 6 win over the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.
third 50-point game of Giannis’ career, his first 50-point game since…well, you can figure it out. pic.twitter.com/SswVfZ2oWV
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) February 16, 2022
Giannis tonight:
50 PTS
14 REB
17-21 FG
14-18 FTHis first 50-piece since the Finals. pic.twitter.com/KdmPcaJy8C
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 16, 2022
Plenty of NBA fans were in awe of the effort.
https://twitter.com/toosick26/status/1493795808298348545
Giannis could win the scoring title,Mvp,dpoy,championship,fmvp all in 1 year. He will end up being the goat
— Alexxxx 🥶🌝 (@CurryTakingOver) February 16, 2022
https://twitter.com/PNWSPORTSFAN12/status/1493795776027246592
Best of all is that while this didn’t quite match the stage of his last 50-point outing, Antetokounmpo’s was hardly an effort in excess. The Bucks only won the game 128-119. Pretty much every bit of that effort was required for Milwaukee to defeat Indiana.
Antetokounmpo missed Monday night’s game, a 122-107 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, with an ankle injury. In the previous game, he had a subpar effort as Milwaukee was on the wrong end of a 131-107 final against the Suns in a Finals rematch.
Following Tuesday’s effort, though, it’s safe to say that the Greek Freak is back to full health and at top form. If he’s not, it will be fun to watch.
