Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have had quite the disappointing run these past few games. Prior to tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors in Scotia Bank Arena, they were 3-5 in their last 8 games. In that span, they lead the league in turnovers with 16.9 turnovers a game, tied with the Pelicans.
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Giannis, in his last 8 games, has been averaging a whopping 39.1 points and 14.9 rebounds a night and despite this, the Bucks have been beyond mediocre. Their inability to consistently make plays in the half-court as of recent due to the lack of a pure ball-handling point guard has been apparent.
The Raptors, who have been putrid this season in comparison to what their expectations were going into this year, were expected to lose against the Bucks tonight. They did lose, 104-101, but not without giving Milwaukee fans the scare of a lifetime.
Joel Embiid could not believe what he was watching from the Bucks-Raptors game
It felt as though the Bucks-Raptors game had been decided in the first quarter when they shot an abysmal 8.7% from the field in 12 minutes of game time. While they did keep it close during the 2nd and a bit of the 3rd quarter, the Bucks would eventually build up a sizable lead.
With 1:19 remaining in the game, the Raptors were down by 16 points. In 79 seconds, they would claw their way back and tie the game at 97 a piece, leading to an overtime period. Everything from Giannis getting his 10th turnover and Grayson Allen making several blunders to Gary Trent Jr making two dagger threes led to this happening.
Joel Embiid, who sat out his own Sixers game, which James Harden won for them due to a clutch block down the stretch, couldn’t believe what he was seeing. So, he tweeted out that the game was plain stupid.
This bucks raptors game is just stupid and doesn’t make sense lmao
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) January 5, 2023
The Bucks eventually do win the Raptors game
Giannis was horrendous in the overtime period. He racked up two more turnovers, was called for 2 more fouls, and did not score a single point. Though, he did get his 10th assist of the night on a Grayson Allen 3 that would give the Bucks their 104-101 lead, which led to them winning the game.
‘The Greek Freak’ had a 30-20-10 night but shot more free throws (21) than the entire Toronto squad (20). He did however, get called for an offensive charge in OT.