By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo skipped the Milwaukee Bucks’ loss against the Portland Trail Blazers in order to rest and he used all that energy to pummel the Indiana Pacers in a 128-119 win.
Giannis banked in 50 points on 17-21 shooting including 2-3 from deep while also grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing out four assists.
The 21 attempts were the fourth-fewest in a 50-point game in NBA history and he also became the third player in NBA history to have 50 points and 10 rebounds while also shooting 80% from the field, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Karl Malone.
Antetokounmpo set a career-high with his seventh 40-point game of the season and scored 50 for the first time since the memorable title-clinching game in the NBA Finals last season against Phoenix. It was also the fourth 50-point game of his nine-year career.
“Obviously it’s a nice feeling to have 50, you always remember it, but I care about winning. I want to win games. Fifties, 40s, 30s all those things, accolades are going to come, but they only come with winning. If your main focus, your No. 1 thing is winning, you do whatever it takes to finish the game. Sometimes it’s, shoot more. Sometimes you’ve got to defend more. Everything else comes, but if you’re thinking about let me get 50, let me get mine, it doesn’t work that way. You’ve always got to focus on winning,” Giannis said.
Meanwhile, Danilo Gallinari scored 25 points behind Trae Young who banked in 41 as the Atlanta Hawks got a 124-116 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored ten.
Dallas got a road win over Miami with Luka Doncic leading the way. The Slovenian logged 21 points, ten rebounds, six assists while Maxi Kleber had 19 and Davis Bertans 12 in his debut. On the opposing side, Omer Yurtseven had 11 points, eight boards.
Jonas Valanciunas with 19 and Willy Hernangomez with 12 points were solid but not enough to help New Orleans past Memphis. The same goes for the Clippers duo of Nicolas Batum (18 points) and Ivica Zubac (12 points, 13 boards, five assists).
Results
Atlanta Hawks – Cleveland Cavaliers 124-116
Miami Heat – Dallas Mavericks 99-107
Philadelphia 76ers – Boston Celtics 87-135
Milwaukee Bucks – Indiana Pacers 128-119
Minnesota Timberwolves – Charlotte Hornets 126-120
New Orleans Pelicans – Memphis Grizzlies 109-121
Phoenix Suns – LA Clippers 103-96
Standings
| Eastern Conference | W | L | W/L% | GB | PS/G | PA/G | SRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Heat (1) | 37 | 21 | .638 | — | 108.9 | 104.4 | 4.06 |
| Chicago Bulls (2) | 37 | 21 | .638 | — | 112.4 | 110.2 | 1.43 |
| Milwaukee Bucks (3) | 36 | 23 | .610 | 1.5 | 113.1 | 109.6 | 2.66 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers (4) | 35 | 23 | .603 | 2.0 | 106.7 | 102.5 | 4.08 |
| Philadelphia 76ers (5) | 34 | 23 | .596 | 2.5 | 107.2 | 105.7 | 1.19 |
| Boston Celtics (6) | 34 | 25 | .576 | 3.5 | 108.8 | 103.3 | 5.12 |
| Toronto Raptors (7) | 31 | 25 | .554 | 5.0 | 108.8 | 107.2 | 1.74 |
| Brooklyn Nets (8) | 30 | 27 | .526 | 6.5 | 110.9 | 110.8 | -0.09 |
| Charlotte Hornets (9) | 29 | 30 | .492 | 8.5 | 113.9 | 114.8 | -0.86 |
| Atlanta Hawks (10) | 27 | 30 | .474 | 9.5 | 111.9 | 111.8 | 0.53 |
| Washington Wizards (11) | 26 | 30 | .464 | 10.0 | 106.9 | 109.9 | -2.77 |
| New York Knicks (12) | 25 | 33 | .431 | 12.0 | 105.0 | 106.5 | -1.54 |
| Indiana Pacers (13) | 19 | 40 | .322 | 18.5 | 109.2 | 112.0 | -2.18 |
| Orlando Magic (14) | 13 | 46 | .220 | 24.5 | 103.2 | 111.6 | -8.02 |
| Detroit Pistons (15) | 12 | 45 | .211 | 24.5 | 102.4 | 112.6 | -9.88 |
| Western Conference | W | L | W/L% | GB | PS/G | PA/G | SRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Suns (1) | 47 | 10 | .825 | — | 113.5 | 105.2 | 8.02 |
| Golden State Warriors (2) | 42 | 16 | .724 | 5.5 | 110.5 | 103.5 | 6.80 |
| Memphis Grizzlies (3) | 41 | 18 | .695 | 7.0 | 113.7 | 108.7 | 4.86 |
| Utah Jazz (4) | 36 | 21 | .632 | 11.0 | 114.0 | 106.9 | 6.67 |
| Dallas Mavericks (5) | 34 | 24 | .586 | 13.5 | 106.3 | 103.0 | 3.10 |
| Denver Nuggets (6) | 32 | 25 | .561 | 15.0 | 109.8 | 107.6 | 2.19 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves (7) | 31 | 27 | .534 | 16.5 | 113.6 | 111.9 | 1.66 |
| Los Angeles Clippers (8) | 29 | 31 | .483 | 19.5 | 106.3 | 107.6 | -0.75 |
| Los Angeles Lakers (9) | 26 | 31 | .456 | 21.0 | 111.0 | 112.6 | -2.04 |
| Portland Trail Blazers (10) | 24 | 34 | .414 | 23.5 | 107.9 | 111.9 | -3.49 |
| New Orleans Pelicans (11) | 23 | 35 | .397 | 24.5 | 106.1 | 109.3 | -2.80 |
| San Antonio Spurs (12) | 22 | 36 | .379 | 25.5 | 111.8 | 111.8 | 0.18 |
| Sacramento Kings (13) | 22 | 37 | .373 | 26.0 | 109.7 | 114.7 | -4.76 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder (14) | 18 | 39 | .316 | 29.0 | 101.1 | 107.7 | -6.37 |
| Houston Rockets (15) | 15 | 41 | .268 | 31.5 | 108.2 | 117.6 | -9.00 |