Giannis Antetokounmpo called it “random basketball,” which is hilarious considering how many of his points came from the same area of the court.
On Monday night, Antetokounmpo scored 42 points on 20-of-23 shooting as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Washington Wizards 142-129. On a shooting night the NBA hadn’t seen in over 40 years, Antetokounmpo hit nearly all of his field goals from close to the basket.
“Left block, right block, transition, rim run, off the dribble,” Antetokounmpo said, adding 13 rebounds and eight assists to his stat line. “Roll, pop — just play basketball at random.” I believe it is more difficult to guard and more difficult for them to load up.”
Antetokounmpo hit 87.0% from the field, the highest percentage in a game by a player with at least 20 attempts since Mike Woodson of the Kansas City Kings went 22 of 24 (91.7%) in a 48-point performance against the Houston Rockets on February 20, 1983.
“Unstoppable,” claimed Bucks coach Adrian Griffin. “He literally is unstoppable.”
Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, was not convinced.
“I wish it was easy,” he lamented. “I wish I could come in and score 42 points every game, but it’s difficult.” You must work incredibly hard to become comfortable, to find your rhythm, to find your spot, to playmake for yourself and your teammates. It’s difficult.”
Washington (2-11) lost its sixth consecutive game, but not without putting up a good fight against the star-studded Bucks. The Wizards led by one point in the fourth after Corey Kispert’s layup with 10:02 left, but Antetokounmpo scored on the opposite end to spark a 15-3 Milwaukee rally.
The Bucks (10-4) have risen from a mediocre start to join Boston and Philadelphia as premier Eastern Conference teams. This wasn’t a particularly inspirational defensive performance — Washington shot 55% from the field — but Milwaukee kept the Wizards at bay following the Bucks’ decisive fourth-quarter run.
“I didn’t like much about our defense,” Griffin admitted. “Until the end, when we were able to begin stringing some stops together, “It was difficult.”
For Washington, Jordan Poole had 30 points, and Kyle Kuzma had 22 points and 13 assists. The Wizards only turned the ball over four times, and the Bucks didn’t score a single point as a result.
Damian Lillard led the Bucks with 22 points. Khris Middleton scored 18 points, passing Sidney Moncrief for fourth place on Milwaukee’s all-time scoring list. Only Antetokounmpo, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Glenn Robinson are ahead of him presently.
“It’s really cool, but he’s not catching me,” Antetokounmpo joked. “He has a long way to go.” No, but it’s fantastic.”
The Bucks made 58.5% of their shots from the field. Bobby Portis had 17 points, while Brook Lopez and Malik Beasley both had 16.
“We needed everybody tonight,” Griffin explained. “I thought we played some good basketball for the most part, but you can’t leave a team like that hanging around.” On any given night, anyone can beat you.”