As was the case for the first clash between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama (who was worth the detour) the first duel of the season between the Bucks and the Thunder was expected to witness the “match within the match” between the “Greek Freak” and Chet Holmgren. We have to believe that the Greek was rather motivated since he started the match fully, multiplying the brilliant shots to show his superiority, until a drive at the start of the second quarter where he made Chet Holmgren volley for finish with a dunk and the foul to boot.
The double MVP continued his work thereafter, getting the better of Chet Holmgren every time he had the opportunity to finish with 30 points on 13/18 shooting and 19 rebounds, his new record this season , where his evening opponent suffered terribly, finishing with 6 points, 1/10 on shots to go with 4 rebounds in 25 minutes. This is quite simply the first time this season that the Thunder rookie has finished a game with a single basket in the game!
Two season records for rebounds
“I just tried to play hard, fight, find rhythm. With Dame and Khris back, I tried to do a little more different things for once, starting with going for every rebound. I was able to catch a few to give the team a second chance. It was a good day, we will try to continue like this”he confided after the meeting.
Beyond his performance and the return of his two main lieutenants, it was the domination of the Bucks racket, with Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez at his side, which made the difference against the Thunder's lack of size. Oklahoma City paid a high price for this deficit, notably with 20 fewer rebounds than its evening opponent. For his part, Giannis Antetokounmpo, for example, grabbed 8 offensive rebounds, another record for him this season.
Figures which sum up Milwaukee's control over the painting well, a bit like the Antetokounmpo – Holmgren duel, between a competitive athlete and a young interior who is still a little frail.
“I’m dying to say it, we have size” explains Doc Rivers. “We don't have athletic champions, but we know how to play physical and that's what we did tonight. There are nights where we're going to have to score 140 points, and then there are others like tonight where it has to be power basketball, where we need to see our big boys running in the middle of the court and we have to find them. We did this several times this evening. Opposite, they only had one big during most of the match. So one of our big guys had a favorable matchup every time. We did a great job on that.”
Giannis has never scored so many points in a season!
To top it off, Giannis Antetokounmpo broke his record for cumulative points scored in a season. His previous record was 2,014 points scored in 75 games in 2017/18. This season, he is (already) at 2,023, with around ten matches still to play!
From the next meeting, he should overtake Michael Redd (2,028 points in 2006), in sixth place in his franchise's standings. The top five places, however, are occupied by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, whose ultimate record with the Bucks dates back to 1971/72 with 2,822 points.
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2013-14 | MIL | 77 | 25 | 41.4 | 34.7 | 68.3 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 6.8 |
| 2014-15 | MIL | 81 | 31 | 49.1 | 15.9 | 74.1 | 1.2 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 12.7 |
| 2015-16 | MIL | 80 | 35 | 50.6 | 25.7 | 72.4 | 1.4 | 6.2 | 7.7 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 16.9 |
| 2016-17 | MIL | 80 | 36 | 52.1 | 27.2 | 77.0 | 1.8 | 7.0 | 8.8 | 5.4 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 22.9 |
| 2017-18 | MIL | 75 | 37 | 52.9 | 30.7 | 76.0 | 2.1 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 26.9 |
| 2018-19 ★ | MIL | 72 | 33 | 57.8 | 25.6 | 72.9 | 2.2 | 10.3 | 12.5 | 5.9 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 27.7 |
| 2019-20 ★ | MIL | 63 | 30 | 55.3 | 30.4 | 63.3 | 2.2 | 11.4 | 13.6 | 5.6 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 29.5 |
| 2020-21 | MIL | 61 | 33 | 56.9 | 30.3 | 68.5 | 1.6 | 9.4 | 11.0 | 5.9 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 28.2 |
| 2021-22 | MIL | 67 | 33 | 55.3 | 29.3 | 72.2 | 2.0 | 9.6 | 11.6 | 5.8 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 29.9 |
| 2022-23 | MIL | 63 | 32 | 55.3 | 27.5 | 64.5 | 2.2 | 9.6 | 11.8 | 5.7 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 31.1 |
| 2023-24 | MIL | 65 | 35 | 61.4 | 29.6 | 66.4 | 2.5 | 8.7 | 11.2 | 6.4 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 30.7 |
| Total | 784 | 33 | 54.5 | 28.8 | 70.3 | 1.8 | 7.9 | 9.7 | 4.8 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 23.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
