In an epic showdown amongst a number of the league’s most gifted stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 49 factors to outduel Kevin Durant‘s 42 and carry the Milwaukee Bucks to a 117-114 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. The sport — which got here right down to the ultimate seconds — was one which many thought-about to be a possible Jap Convention finals preview.
“You wish to be part of video games like this,” Antetokounmpo stated afterward. “Rising up, you wish to play towards the perfect; and coming right down to the wire, going backwards and forwards, that is what you all the time dreamed about.”
Durant shot 16-of-33 from the sphere and had 10 rebounds, two assists and a steal to go together with his dominant scoring. Antetokounmpo was 21-for-36 from the sphere — together with Four-of-Eight from three.
The Nets and Bucks alternated leads properly into the fourth quarter. The Bucks had a three-point lead with simply three.6 seconds remaining when Durant missed a 28-foot shot that might have tied the sport.
“You wish to gauge your self towards the perfect defender, finest workforce protection, finest teaching,” Durant stated. “That is the one manner you may get higher as a participant. So, I get excited and I relish these alternatives, and we do as a workforce.”
Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA Defensive Participant of the 12 months, has grown into one of many league’s most formidable defenders. It wasn’t that way back, nevertheless, that he was in Greece watching Durant from afar. Antetokounmpo stated he grew up learning Durant’s sport and that he remembers watching him play within the Western Convention finals in 2011, when Antetokounmpo was a teen and Durant was with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“What he does is unbelievable,” Antetokounmpo stated Sunday evening. “Being 6-11, having the ability to shoot over all people. The way in which he handles the ball and will get to his spot is unbelievable — the perfect I’ve seen in my life. I look as much as him, I am not gonna lie.”
Antetokounmpo added he has labored to emulate elements of Durant’s sport however that he prefers to be a facilitator and a playmaker. And regardless of each All Stars’ supreme scoring performances on Sunday, Antetokounmpo insisted he wasn’t attempting to go shot for shot with Durant.
“No person on this world can commute with KD,” Antetokounmpo stated. “He is been one of many best scorers to ever play this sport. I used to be simply attempting to do my job, get to my spots and execute and assist my workforce win.”
With the loss, Brooklyn is now zero.5 video games again of the Philadelphia 76ers on the prime of the Jap Convention. Extra importantly, the Sixers are up a sport within the loss column — and maintain the tiebreaker within the season collection.
With the win, Milwaukee moved up inside 2.5 video games of Brooklyn for second within the East, forward of their rematch on Tuesday at Fiserv Discussion board.
“It is a kind of video games you take pleasure in enjoying in,” Durant stated. “And hopefully, it is a greater one for us subsequent sport.”