Giannis Antetokounmpo says he wants to produce so consistently that it becomes boring.
That is the only area where the two-time MVP has recently slipped.
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Washington Wizards 123-113 on Tuesday night, with Antetokounmpo scoring a career-high 55 points on a series of thrilling dunks and drives. The spectacular forward also had 10 rebounds and seven assists, extending what is arguably his best stretch of his career.
“I want to get to the point where my game is boring,” Antetokounmpo said. “I just do what I do and people don’t talk about it because it becomes boring — I do it every single night. That’s exactly what I intend to do. I want others to think my game is boring. But I’m not bored. The best players — the greats — are never bored. They go out there and always give it their all on any given night.”
In each of his last three games, Antetokounmpo has at least 40 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. The two-time MVP sat out Sunday’s 118-95 loss to the Wizards due to a sore left knee.
Elgin Baylor in 1961 and 1963, Wilt Chamberlain in 1963, and Russell Westbrook in 2016 are the only other players in NBA history to have three consecutive games with 40 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Flynn Robinson in February 1969 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in February 1972 were the only other Bucks to score at least 40 points in three consecutive games.
“He’s been playing with this kind of determination, just wanting us to win games,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We were able to win it tonight. He’s been nothing short of amazing.”
Brook Lopez, a Bucks centre, is in his fifth season with Antetokoumpo. Antetokounmpo hasn’t had a better regular-season stretch in his career, according to the 7-footer.
“He’s just constantly improving,” Lopez, who finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds, said. “When you think about where else he can go and how else he can improve, he just improves more. To come up with words, we’ll need to expand the English language in some way (to describe him). I’m not sure if I’ve said it before, but I’m confident he’ll improve again. Who knows what he will do next. He’s just so out of this world.”
Antetokounmpo previously set a career high with 52 points against the Philadelphia 76ers on March 17, 2019. He narrowly missed Michael Redd’s single-game franchise scoring record of 57 points against the Utah Jazz in November 2006.
Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards returned after missing three games due to a strained left hamstring, but he only played 13 minutes. Beal scored eight points before being sidelined with a hamstring injury in the second half.
“Same area,” said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. “We just need to get it evaluated.
Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 22 points, and Kyle Kuzma added 20.
Bobby Portis of Milwaukee had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday scored six points in 19 minutes after missing three games due to a non-COVID illness. Bucks forward Khris Middleton missed his eighth straight game with a sore right knee and will also miss Wednesday’s game against Toronto.
TIP-INS
Taj Gibson missed his third straight game with a strained left groyne. Gaford had 11 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, and Corey Kispert each scored 12 points.
Bucks: George Hill missed his third consecutive game due to a non-COVID illness. Portis has four straight double-doubles… Grayson Allen continued his slump, shooting 1 of 9 overall and 1 of 7 from 3-point range. Over the last four games, Allen has made 9 of 37 3-point attempts. Antetokounmpo has made 15 of 16 free throws.
