The Milwaukee Bucks secured an important win tonight. Hosting the Washington Wizards for a 2nd straight matchup, the Bucks needed to figure out a way to win without Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton. Their answer was none other than 2x MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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The Bucks had faced the Wizards on 1st January and lost that contest 118-95.
However, the result wasn’t the same tonight. The Bucks got Giannis back, and they turned the result around. They secured a 123-113 win and tied the four-game season series at one apiece.
Giannis Antetokounmpo set out and showed the world why the phrase ‘Fear The Deer’ has weight attached to it. The 2021 Finals MVP scored a career-high 55 points, along with ten rebounds, and seven assists.
55 PTS (career high)
10 REB
7 AST
20-33 FGM
15-16 FTM@Giannis_An34‘s career night and third-straight 40-point game powers the @Bucks! pic.twitter.com/C04P9yfXUh— NBA (@NBA) January 4, 2023
The Greek Freak was everywhere and he made sure the Wizards didn’t go out with two wins over the 2021 NBA Champions.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo talks about his excellent free-throw shooting tonight
With his 55 points tonight, Antetokounmpo has now registered three straight games with 40 or more points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s last 3⃣ fantasy stat lines:
55 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL, 78.5 FPTS
43 PTS, 20 REB, 5 AST, 2 BLK, 78.5 FPTS
45 PTS, 22 REB, 7 AST, 79.9 FPTS pic.twitter.com/ENUDq4BNyC— NBA Fantasy (@NBAFantasy) January 4, 2023
However, what was most impressive about tonight’s performance was his free-throw shooting. Shooting 64.5% from the charity stripe this season, Giannis showed up and knocked down 15 out of his 16 attempts today. During the post-game interview, Zora Stephenson asked him about his FT shooting today. Antetokounmpo answered simply and said, “That’s what I do… I work.”
Giannis put on for Milwaukee.
The #Bucks MVP spoke with @ZoraStephenson after pouring in a career-high 55 points in the win over the Wizards. #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/X6SAro9Ggt
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) January 4, 2023
He also talked about how the Bucks lost four in a row before their win over the Timberwolves. Playing without Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton has been tough on the team, but the others have been stepping up, and that’s helped them secure the wins over the Wolves and the Wizards.
Can Giannis lead the Bucks to another championship this year?
Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing some of the best basketball of his career right now. He’s averaging 32.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists a game. Despite missing two of their three best players, the Bucks have a 24-13 record, good for the third seed in the East.
While Giannis might be able to get the Bucks a good seeding alone, come playoff time, he would need his co-stars ready and healthy if the Bucks want to repeat the success they had in 2021. There are three months still before playoff time, so that gives the team ample to get their players ready for the big stages.
If Khris and Jrue come back healthy and play well, the Bucks would be one of the stronger contenders coming out of the East.
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