Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes Bucks’ all-time rebounding leader
Giannis Antetokounmpo hauled in 17 rebounds in win against Houston and passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7,161) for the most in Bucks franchise history.
The Milwaukee Bucks broke their pregame huddle before running out onto the court Tuesday night with a mandate: Don’t play with your food. They didn’t for the most part, cruising to a 132-119 victory over San Antonio at Fiserv Forum. It was the Bucks’ fifth straight victory as they improved to 20-7. The Spurs lost for the 20th time in their last 21 games to fall to 4-22.
“These are not easy games to play but I thought we took care of business,” Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin said. “I thought everyone contributed on this one.”
The pregame edict wasn’t arrogance by the Bucks, but merely stating a fact. The Spurs came in as one of the worst teams in the NBA with just four wins and star rookie Victor Wembanyama out injured. There was no reason for the Bucks to lose, let alone let the Spurs hang around in the game. So, Milwaukee effectively ended the game in the opening eight minutes after taking a 27-9 lead and led by as many as 22. The Bucks did build a mashed potato volcano and push the peas around late in the second quarter and early third as the Spurs cut the deficit to eight, but the Bucks immediately went on a 15-6 run to once again lead comfortably.
“I think anytime you get into a game like this with a team that’s on a losing streak, their best player is out, those are the trap games where a team like this who’s really well coached, you know they’re not going to come out and just lay off,” Lillard said. “They play with a lot of pace, they move the ball, they cut hard, everything they do they do it with purpose. If you try to ease into a game against a team like that, you can find yourself down by 15 and it has nothing to do with ability or who is on the floor, it’s just the way that they play and the way that they’re coached. Setting a tone and establishing ourself in the beginning was extremely important.”
BOX SCORE: Bucks 132, Spurs 119
Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded the 37th triple-double of his career with a 16-assist, 14-rebound, 11-point effort. The assist total is a career-high and it was his second triple-double of the season. Bobby Portis scored 23 off the bench and Khris Middleton (17) and Brook Lopez (14) also reached double figures. Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 28 points.
Damian Lillard scores 20,000 career points
With his third basket of the game – which was part of a 19-point first quarter – Damian Lillard became the 51st player in NBA history (and eighth active player) to reach the 20,000-point mark. Of the 43 retired players, 37 are in the Hall of Fame.
“I mean, I don’t want to fake downplay it like it’s nothing,” he said. “I know it’s a big deal. It’s a great accomplishment. It’s a rare space to be in. In the history of this league to have only 51 players accomplish something like that, I think that speaks for itself.”