MILWAUKEE- When the final buzzer sounded Milwaukee Bucks' 127-120 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons sound, Giannis Antetokounmpo walked to midfield and asked the crowd at Fiserv Forum to make some noise. The fans obeyed with MVP chants after another spectacular effort from their hero.
Antetokounmpo scored 59 points on 21 of 34 from the field and 16 of 17 from the free throw line, posting the second-highest point total of his career (his career-high is 64 points) and the best of any player this season. He added 14 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and three blocks.
The Greek Freak started the night with 22 points in the first quarter – the most he has scored in a first frame in his career – and was the only Bucks player to record a shot in the first 13 minutes and 47 seconds of the game . With Damian Lillard, Chris Middleton And Bobby Portis Everyone was paused, it looked like Antetokounmpo would need 80 ton give the struggling Bucks a much-needed win.
He didn't quite make it, but he did more than do his part. Between his own points and those he scored with his assists, Antetokounmpo accounted for 76 of the Bucks' 127 points (63.3%).
Ironic, Antetokounmpo almost blew the game in the last second of regular time when he committed a foul Ron Holland II in a lob game with a draw. However, the Pistons rookie missed both free throws, sending the game into overtime and giving the Bucks a second chance.
Antetokounmpo refused to let it go to waste. He scored or assisted on 14 of the Bucks' 16 points in the extra frame.
This was the 10th 50-point game of Antetokounmpo's career, tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in Bucks history.
With this result, the Bucks won consecutive games for the first time all season and improved to 4-8.