Giannis Antetokounmpo steals in the NBA with 64 points… and lacks the ball |  Basketball |  Sports

Giannis Antetokounmpo steals in the NBA with 64 points… and lacks the ball | Basketball | Sports

In the NBA of records, Giannis Antetokounmpo left another record in the encyclopedia: 64 points during the victory of his team, the Milwaukee Bucks, against the Indiana Pacers by 140-126. The Greek striker swelled with a series of 20 successes on 25 shots from two and 24 on 32 on free throws, despite the fact that he missed the three triples he attempted. Anteto adorned the stats with 14 rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block. And not only has he surpassed the best score of his career in the American League (still in the same franchise, since 2013), which until now was the 55 points he had scored for the Wizards last January, but he is also the record for goals by a Bucks player in their history. Michael Redd’s 57 at the Jazz in 2006 is now behind him.

The Pacers found themselves disturbed by Antetokounmpo’s offensive arsenal, to the point that a serious foul by Aaron Nesmith on the Greek, of Nigerian origin, 10 minutes from the end of the match gave rise to a fight between players from both teams. Anteto also ended up being very angry because he failed to get the ball at the end of the game as a souvenir and give it to his mother. According to the Milwaukee team, the ball was guarded by Pacers coaches, causing Anteto to become angry and a confrontation on the court for several minutes. This was confirmed by Indiana coach Rick Carlisle: โ€œThere was a misunderstanding. It was Oscar Tshiebwe’s first official point in the NBA, so we always had the ball. We weren’t thinking about Giannis’ record, so we took the ball. A few minutes later, several of their players were in our hallway and there was a big fight. โ€œI donโ€™t think there were any punches, but one of their players elbowed my general manager in the ribs.โ€

Despite the spectacular nature of the mark, Anteto’s 64 points do not enter the group of 25 best in NBA history, a list that is topped by Wilt Chamberlain’s dizzying 100 points with Philadelphia against the Knicks in 1962 and Kobe continues. Bryant is 82 with the Lakers in Toronto in 2006. As many as 11 other times a player has matched or exceeded the 70-point mark. Among these 25 best brands of all time, 15 bear Chamberlain’s signature. The Greek, of course, joined Chamberlain himself (four times), Karl Malone, David Thompson and Damian Lillard as the only ones to reach that ceiling with at least 70% field goal accuracy (71.3% for the Bucks star). โ€œItโ€™s a great feeling. It’s a great feeling. I try to play basketball the right way. โ€œI try to play to win, I try to play to help my teammates be great, but at the end of the day, being able to break this record in front of the fans here in this clubhouse is a great feeling too.โ€ commented the protagonist.

Anteto, 29 years old and 2.11 m, was named NBA regular season MVP two years in a row, in 2019 and 2020, and before giving way to Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid last season. In 2021, he was crowned in the Mecca of basketball as ring winner with the Bucks and as MVP of the final (50 points and 14 rebounds in the decisive duel against Phoenix).

Alongside the NBA season, the Greek has the challenge of qualifying with his team for the Paris 2024 Games. Greece will host one of the four pre-Olympic tournaments, and the draw showed that in his group, she will face Luka Doncicโ€™s Slovenia in July. In other words, one of the two big stars will not be at the Games.

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