Giannis Antetokounmpo delivers history, energy, and Bucks reset

Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t waste any time ending Milwaukee’s slide.

The Bucks snapped their seven-game losing streak on Saturday night, rolling past the Nets behind Antetokounmpo’s 29 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes.

“It felt really good,” Antetokounmpo said, via The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. “We were fighting for our lives.”

He wasn’t kidding. Milwaukee hadn’t won since November 14. And on a back-to-back, Giannis gave them the jolt they’d been begging for.

He also added another milestone. A corner three midway through the third quarter made him the 42nd player in NBA history to hit 21,000 career points.

“When I was younger, I’d say, ‘It’s another day at the office,’” he said. “But as you get older, you start appreciating those moments… Being a kid from Greece, from Sepolia, where not a lot of great things come out of there, to be on this stage 13 years later and score 21,000 points, I’m very appreciative.”

According to the Bucks, Giannis is the sixth-youngest player ever to reach that mark.

Milwaukee also got a lift from the return of Kevin Porter Jr., who had played only one game before a sprained ankle and torn meniscus wiped out most of his first month.

He started, logged 25 minutes and delivered 13 points, four rebounds and six assists.

“You have three ballhandlers now,” coach Doc Rivers said of Porter, Antetokounmpo and Ryan Rollins. “That was our plan to start the season… (Porter) surprised me with his conditioning and how sharp he looked.”

For one night, the Bucks looked whole again. And Giannis reminded everyone what their ceiling still is when he’s dancing.