Giannis Antetokounmpo had a monster night to lead the Milwaukee Bucks in a 125-119 win over the feisty Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
The Bucks secured the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs as they look to make a deep run in the postseason and get a third championship.
“The Greek Freak” had 32 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, his fourth triple-double in his last five games, which goes to show the world why he’s one of the best NBA players currently. Milwaukee will face the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers in the first round, a year after losing to them in the opening round.
Giannis blocks a rival and mocks him
During the last seconds of the game, and with the Bucks win secured, the Pistons were trying to score one more time. Superstar young player Cade Cunningham – scored 36 points on 15-of-21 shooting – passed the ball to guard Malik Beasley – who scored 21 points -.
Beasley tried to hit a three but Antetokounmpo jumped with the Pistons player and he blocked the shot, showing that the height difference played in favor of the Bucks baller – Giannis is 6’11 and Malik is 6’4 -. After all, the basketball player from Greece has been named to the All-NBA First Team for six consecutive seasons.
Antetokounmpo was real proud of his defensive play and he decided to do the Shimmy as a sign of celebration, but Malik was not having any of it and he told his rival not to be playing around. Giannis kept laughing at the Pistons guard and things could have escalate quickly if it wasn’t for the players from both teams that defused the situation.
The Bucks want redemption from last year
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a calf injury that kept him out of the 2024 playoffs, leading to the team’s second straight first-round exit – even if they had superstar guard Damian Lillard on their side -, and the team is thankful he’s healthy.
The two-time MVP has played in 67 of 81 games and head coach Doc Rivers praised what the 6-foot-11, 254-pound forward has done to take care of his body. “Giannis numbers, it’s almost like he’s a forgotten great player in the league. I hear about everybody else and I don’t hear enough about what he’s doing… I feel like, it’s going unnoticed,” Rivers said on March about his player.
Now the Bucks will face the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. Milwaukee won the regular season series 3-1 but Indy has the edge when it comes to postseason history between the two squads: the Pacers have come up on top three times since 1999.
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