Legendary Giannis, beat the Clippers by 54 points, reversing -21 for the Bucks

What a game! What John! The Bucks showed character against the Clippers, coming back from -21 and picking up a great win – their 6th straight – 106-105!

Giannis Antetokounmpo was the absolute star of the game with 54 points (one point off his career high) with 19/31 2-pointers, 2/8 3-pointers, 10/15 shots, 19 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 turnovers. His last error at 106-105 ultimately cost the Bucks nothing after Kawhi Leonard missed the Clippers’ final attack.

Khris Middleton with 16 points and Jrue Holiday with 12 points (but on 4/15 shooting) were the only other Bucks players in double digits.

With the Clippers, Norman Powell had 26 points, Kawhi Leonard had 17 points (but 7/26 shooting), and Paul George had 16 points (but 6/16 shooting).

At 35-17 (22-5 home and 13-12 away) the record of the Bucks, who count 6 straight wins, at 29-26 of the Clippers (14-11 home and 15-15 away), who have experienced only their 2nd loss in the last 8 games.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ next opponent is the Miami Heat early Sunday morning at 3 a.m. at the Fiserv Forum. This will be the fourth straight home game and the last home game before there are three meetings in the west with the Blazers, Lakers and Clippers.

Antetokounmpo’s account

Giannis started the game very poorly as he only had 2 points on 1/7 shots and 0/2 shots in the first five minutes. The Clippers threw Ivica Zubac at him and gave him the shot, which worried him, with the “Greek Freak” finishing the first third with 6 points on 3/9 shots and 0/2 shots. Gradually, however, the facts changed.

Giannis upped the pace in the second half while Zubac’s quick 3rd foul opened up the gaps, with the “Greek Freak” carrying the Bucks to reach 20 points by the end of the first half.

In the third period, he continued the same pattern and fought alone against the Clippers for a long time, scoring 14 points and reaching 34. And he wasn’t done yet. In the fourth quarter, he continued with the same momentum, scoring consistently and finishing the game with 54 points, one point shy of his career high.
54 points
19/31 two-hand
2/8 three-hand
10/15 shots
19 rebounds
2 assists
3 errors
2 fouls
+10 to +/-
55.7 USG%
at 36:26

The race

The Clippers entered the court strong, going 2-10. But that was just the beginning as the gap soon reached 15 points (5-20) with LA seemingly controlling the match. But the Bucks gradually recovered, cutting to 15:24 with a 6-0 run at the end of the first period. The stage was set for her return to the game.

Milwaukee continued the same pattern in the second half and with Giannis providing solutions, the series went 13-0 with the home side reducing to 22-24. A little later they even equalized with 25:25 and finally, thanks to a follow-up shot by Giannis, took the lead with 28:30, but a little later also with 28:32. However, the passing of the “Greek freak” on the bench would change the facts.

Milwaukee’s offense faltered while Norman Powell simultaneously took initiatives for the Clippers. The result was that the LA team once again got the upper hand in the match and came away 39-48. Antetokounmpo then returned to the field and narrowed the gap somewhat with some personal action, but Powell – once again – had the last word at the end of the second period to make it 49-56 with a three.

In the third period, the Clippers prevailed, and with Marcus Morris scoring back-to-back points, they scored 9 points (making their run 12-0) and drew 49-65, but shortly thereafter also 55-76. Things were looking bad for Milwaukee, who looked caged. Still, thanks to a 3-13 score towards the end of the third period, they found the courage to reduce to 78-87 and stayed in the game.

Going into the fourth period, the Bucks were in good momentum and with Giannis hitting 40 points, they narrowed the gap to 4 points (87-91). The game burned. And that fire grew even more when Milwaukee was reduced to 99-100 with a three from Giannis. The Clippers responded with a 5-0 run for 99-105. but Giannis gave Milwaukee a consecutive points lead 106-105.

That should be the ending too. In the last 107 seconds of the game, both teams had only penalties and errors. In the dramatic finale, with 18 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Leonard missed a shot. Giannis got the rebound but misplaced the pass, with the Clippers again having the final offense with Leonard, but he missed again, giving Milwaukee a big win.

THE DODECALPTA: 15-24, 49-56, 78-87, 106-105

MILWAUKEE BUCKS (Mike Budenholzer): Antetokounmpo 54 (21/39 shooting, 2/8 threes, 10/15 shooting, 18 rebounds), Lopez 6 (5 rebounds), Holiday 12 (4/15 shooting, 2 threes, 8 assists), Connaughton 8 (1 three-pointer, 10 rebounds), Allen 4 (1), Middleton 16 (6/14 shooting, 2 three-pointers, 7 rebounds), Hill, Carter, Matthews 3, Ingles 3 (1)

LOS ANGELES CLIPPER (Tyron Lue): Leonard 17 (7/26 shooting, 1/6 threes, 11 rebounds, 5 assists), Morris 16 (2 threes, 5 rebounds), Zubac 12 (13 rebounds), George 16 (6/16 shooting, 2 3-pointers, 6 rebounds), man 8 (2), Batum, Covington 2, Powell 26 (4/8 3-pointers), Jackson 8 (3/9 shooting, 2 3-pointers)

Milwaukee Bucks team stats: 30/53 2-pointers, 9/37 3-pointers, 19/27 shots, 52 rebounds, 16 assists, 2 steals, 10 turnovers

Los Angeles Clippers team stats: 26/69 2-pointers, 13/36 3-pointers, 14/20 shots, 49 rebounds, 15 assists, 8 steals, 4 blocks, 7 fouls