By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Thursday was a great night for Giannis Antetokounmpo. He posted his second triple-double of the 2019-20 NBA Regular Season and the 16th of his career. The Milwaukee Bucks extended their winning streak to six games by taking down the Portland Trail Blazers with Carmelo Anthony part of the visiting squad at the Fiserv Forum.
Back in December of 2013, Antetokounmpo, now 24, started for the first time in his NBA career going against Anthony and the New York Knicks. “Definitely got a deja vu” he said, “Remembered that game like it was yesterday. It was the first game my family came to watch. Time flies.”
Then upcoming Greek Freak fouled out with ten points and seven rebounds to his name, Carmelo scored 29 leading his side to the win. This time, Giannis was on the winning side, had 24 points and 19 boards to go along with his personal-best 15 assists, while Anthony posted 18 points and suffered a second loss in his second game back after his hiatus.
“Giannis is Giannis” mentioned the 35-year-old American forward on the reigning MVP, “He’s a tough check. I thought tonight we actually did a pretty good job. Even though he had a triple-double, when you look at that, it’s like `Oh, he had a hell of a game.’ But I thought, for the most part, we were back on him. We loaded up on him. He got some and-1s, he got going a little bit. He found some guys, they made some 3s, kind of opened the game up.”
Franchise record
Apart getting back on his spirited rivalry opposite to Anthony, Antetokounmpo became the first Buck in history with at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a single match. Undoubtedly his dimes highlighted his effort.
“Shots weren’t falling” he took out of his performance, “I tried to find my teammates and they were in the right spots. They were able to knock down shots and to roll hard. I just did half of the work and my teammates did the rest.”
“As you grow older, you get more mature. It comes easier to you” he added referring to his new career-high.
The Bucks took sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference. “Keep going, keep playing well and keep playing to win, everything will be fine” Antetokounmpo pointed out.
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