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Tim BontempsESPN
After Giannis Antetokounmpo knocked out a turnaround jumper to end a 7-0 personal run and give his Milwaukee Bucks what turned out to be an insurmountable lead in an eventual 109-105 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night , he celebrated by sitting on the field at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia and staring straight into the camera with a smile on his face.
That smile remained as he walked back to the group and as the few fans entered the building, Antetokounmpo showered with boos. But with a win in hand after a dominant performance – 32 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in 43 minutes – the smile was still on Anteokounmpo’s face after the game when asked why he chose to play that way. to celebrate.
“Is there something wrong with having fun?” Antetokoumnpo said. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having fun. I just like having fun. In the first half I didn’t have any fun. I spoke to myself a little bit in the half and said, ‘It doesn’t matter how bad the game is. also, you can’t forget what to do, which is to have fun. ‘
‘Obviously, I am exaggerating a few times, but I don’t want to take anything back. I didn’t think, ‘Oh, I’ll sit down. ‘I had fun. I spoke to my teammates – I spoke to them. I was just trying to be in the moment. But I was just having fun. “
It wasn’t nearly as much fun for the Sixers, who shot the Bucks at 12-for-45 in the first half, including 1-for-17 from the 3-point range, and were previously led with a whopping 19 points. let it blow. Philadelphia dropped out of first place in the East thanks to Brooklyn Nets’ victory over Indiana on Wednesday night.
Sixers center Dwight Howard in particular objected to the Antetokounmpo celebration.
“I wanted to start using Stone Cold Stunner, but I already had tech,” Howard said, referring to a move popularized by WWE wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin. It’s basketball. He wanted to have fun, but we’ll see these guys again. Today we brought them back into play. We did it. We have no control over that.
“But he had a great game. Make some tough shots late at the end of the game, reigning MVP, and he had a great game. I’m not one to talk shit or say anything negative, but we’ll see them again. and it will be a different result. “
A fairly large presence was missing from this game: Sixers superstar Joel Embiid, who sat on the sidelines in loafers and a hoodie and stays outside with a bone bruise in his left knee sustained in a fall last Friday in a win over the Wizards. But the energy and intensity on both sides was reminiscent of a play-off game – and were a reminder of what could happen in June, when these teams are currently scheduled for the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Still, the Bucks nearly ditched the game and blew a seven-point lead in the last minute of regulation, thanks to Sixers guard Furkan Korkmaz hitting a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds to go to tie the score. bring it to 93. Then Antetokounmpo saved Milwaukee in overtime.
Ultimately, Milwaukee brought back the kind of hard-fought, roadside physical play it will need this spring to break through and reach the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1970s.
“We knew we were playing terribly in the attacking end and were missing shots,” said Bucks forward Khris Middleton. But at the same time, we all stayed together, we stayed positive, and we knew there was still a lot of play left and that we would have a chance as long as we continued to play defensively and on the other side played the right way.
“At some point the race would change and we would run, and luckily that happened.”
It did so largely because of Antetokounmpo’s heroism. After Howard unusually long jumper to bring the score to 98 with 3:08 going into extra time, Antetokounmpo scored on three consecutive possessions – a hard left drive for a lay-up; a pull-up 3-pointer; and the reluctant, reversing jumper in the lane – to make it 105-98 with 1:12 left, all but make sure the Bucks would win.
“When the game starts, you try to get into your rhythm, but you’re not moving in the right direction. … It’s just hard to get into a rhythm,” said Antetokounmpo, who scored 28 of his 32 points in the game. second. half and overtime. “And the way I try to get into a rhythm is to get everyone involved. I try to move the ball a little bit, move my legs, move my body a little bit. But then I went into the second half. , I wanted a little more aggressive, but I knew I couldn’t get out of the gate like that and be aggressive, I had to build it up slowly.
“But as I went on, I was just trying to be aggressive. … My teammates need me to keep playing the right game, and they need me to stay aggressive, so that’s what I was trying to do.”
The jokes also continued in Antetokounmpo’s Zoom call, as at one point he ordered a cheesesteak – making sure he got one with Cheese Whiz on it – and was asked where he got the idea to sit on the track .
“Guys, I haven’t seen that,” he said. “That’s what I wanted to do then, and that’s what I did. I didn’t see it. But, like I said, I was just trying to have fun. I was trying to enjoy the moment.”
As it turns out, Antetokounmpo wasn’t alone in seeing it before.
“I was shocked when I saw him do it,” Middleton said with a laugh. “But I don’t think it came from any sign of disrespect, although I know some people take it that way. If he’s known him for the past few weeks, months, or whatever, he wants to have fun.
“I had never seen it before, but I am glad he did it with a smile after a difficult period in that game.”