MILWAUKEE — Although Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo would never prefer to sit out for an extended stretch of games, he acknowledged after Milwaukee’s 117-113 victory over the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day that his stint in the NBA’s health and safety protocols gave him an opportunity for a much-needed mental and physical break.
Antetokounmpo missed five games after testing positive for COVID-19, but in his first game since Dec. 13, he didn’t miss a step. He scored 29 of his 36 points in the second half, adding 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks to lead the Bucks to a comeback victory over the Celtics after trailing by as many as 19 points.
“He gutted it out. You could see the fatigue,” Bucks forward Wesley Matthews said. “But he’s just one of those guys. He’s a robot; he’s a machine. He tells himself he feels no pain. He keeps going, he keeps attacking, he keeps putting pressure on everybody. The greatest thing about him is, he’s not content with any of it.”
Boston held Antetokounmpo to only five shots in the paint as the Celtics started off fast in the first half, but Antetokounmpo was much better at getting to the rim in the second half, finishing 9-for-12 in the paint after halftime.
And he was able to impose his will defensively, as well, meeting Jayson Tatum at the rim with eight seconds remaining in the game and forcing Tatum to pass the ball to Robert Williams III, which resulted in a block by Antetokounmpo on the recovery.
“He’s got that extra ability to make multiple-effort plays defensively with his length,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said of Antetokounmpo. “He can cover so much ground and be just impactful.”
Antetokounmpo said he was surprised after initially testing positive for the virus but that he eventually started to experience some mild symptoms during his quarantine stint. However, he spent most of the time in his basement just trying to keep himself busy — “watching movies, bunch of snacks, bunch of fluids,” he said — before he was…
Source : espn
