The ‘Greek Freak’ led his club to a 120-119 victory in New York, scoring 44 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and dishing out six assists in just 39 minutes of action.
With 14 of his 21 shots going in, the 27-year-old broke Kareem Abdul-franchise Jabbar’s record of 14,211 points.
After sending the game into overtime with a three-pointer with 18.7 seconds left in regulation, Antetokounmpo broke the record by missing the potential game-winning free shot with 3 seconds left.
He claimed ignorance of the exact time he set the record and declared, “I’m shifting the story.” As the saying goes, “I don’t want to be the only one who stings and runs.”
No matter what happens, if you don’t have a successful season […] it won’t be remembered.
I’m striving towards modesty. The lower my self-esteem, the more my drive, and the greater my success.
According to Bucks Guard Jew Holiday, “It’s Absolutely the MVP.”
From the charity stripe to the three-point line, his improved game is evident. It’s greatly improved over last year. We were riding on the back of his popularity, I thought. We get our confidence the same way,” Holiday said to the press.
Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, despite Antetokounmpo’s heroics, had a shot to seal the deal for the Nets.
Durant scored 26 points, grabbed seven boards, and dished out 11 assists for the home team, but he missed the game-winning three-pointer in overtime.
Still, they made it through, and the Bucks have won 12 of their last 15 games.
An Early Hardening Lock
Offensively, Harden had a great start, making many dunks on the strength of his quick first step and aggressive attitude.
He scored 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first quarter and brushed off any lingering disappointment he may have felt after shooting 2-for-11 in Sunday’s loss to Phoenix. Even if they haven’t performed well recently, 10-time All-Stars don’t usually stress out about it.
That was my mindset tonight,” Harden said. “Just being aggressive and not thinking about anything except being aggressive.”
Even though he missed a couple of open threes in the third quarter, Harden kept the pressure on the Bucks’ defence as a ball handler.
Last Words
With the Bucks switching on Harden-Embiid pick-and-rolls, the Sixers’ primary offensive strategy was to feed Embiid at the nail against Wesley Matthews, Holiday, or whoever the smaller man was guarding Harden.
