NBA News From The Athletic

The Athletic: Giannis Antetokounmpo is channeling his inner Shaq

The Bucks are going to play hard and "make every single night a bar fight," Antetokounmpo said after their 118-113 loss to the Cavaliers.

Eric Nehm, The Athletic

Editor’s Note: Read more NBA coverage from The Athletic here. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its teams. 

* * *

The Cleveland Cavaliers got the best of the Milwaukee Bucks with a 118-113 victory Sunday, but they did not find a way to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo from continuing to put up historic numbers to start the 2025-26 season.

In the losing effort, Antetokounmpo came up just one assist short of a triple-double with 40 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists but became the third player in NBA history, along with Luka Dončić and Oscar Robertson, to open a season with three games of at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

“I think that’s who he is at his heart,” Bucks guard AJ Green (20 points) said. “He’s that guy that he’s going to step up, regardless of how he’s feeling. He’s going to put pressure on the other team for 48 minutes. Just relentless attacking and making them adjust or try to stop him, and they can’t.”

Before the game, the Bucks announced that two of their three point guards — Kevin Porter Jr. (left ankle sprain) and Cole Anthony (non-COVID illness) — would be out, as would Kyle Kuzma, meaning Antetokounmpo would be asked to do nearly all of the team’s playmaking against one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference.

“It’s amazing,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “That’s why we made sure we kept his minutes in that 33 range, because we knew this was going to be a hard game for him, a physical game for him because he’s going to have to be the main (ballhandler).

“He handled the ball for the majority of the game. That’s taxing, and yet, he’s still willing to go into the paint and get fouled. That’s just who he is.”

In what was an incredibly physical contest, the Cavaliers ended up committing 11 fouls against Antetokounmpo, which allowed the two-time MVP to put together an 11-of-16 night at the free-throw line. After the game, Rivers marveled at Antetokounmpo’s ability to effectively play through contact without making an emotional reaction.

“He gets hit, grabbed and held, it’s amazing how many times he gets hit on the arms, and that’s what we’re supposed to be looking for,” Rivers told reporters after the game. “It’s like Shaq (O’Neal).”

Through three games, Antetokounmpo is averaging 36 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists per game and shooting 68.3 percent from the field, which trails only Shaquille O’Neal (72.1 percent in 1993-94) for the highest shooting percentage through three games while averaging at least 30 points per game.

“He doesn’t react to the hits, so there’s no call to it,” Rivers said. “Where, if it’s a guard, a guard’s going to flail and get that call. It’s just not who he is, so he’ll never really get it, but still, to be able to make accurate passes through that contact, it just tells you how tough he is.”

The Bucks trailed by 18 at one point midway through the third quarter but battled back to get within two heading to the fourth quarter. Milwaukee was able to briefly tie the score on a dunk from starting point guard Ryan Rollins (14 points, eight assists) but eventually couldn’t complete the comeback.

Though his coach and teammates were impressed by his effort in the loss, Antetokounmpo spent his postgame media session not only lamenting the defeat but also discussing how this hard-fought loss against one of the best teams in the East could be a blueprint for the Bucks this season.

“It’s definitely one of the games, if you fight this hard, you want to leave this place with a win, and you can put in the back of your head that Kuzma, Scoot (Porter) and Cole were not playing tonight, and we were still able to be close in the game, but that’s not who we’re going to be this year,” Antetokounmpo said. “It doesn’t matter who plays. As long as you go out there, you’re going to give it everything you have, and this is who we’re going to be.

“We’re going to be a bunch of guys that play hard, that make plays, that space the floor the right way, guys that make open shots and guys that give everything every single night and make every single night a bar fight. It’s going to be a fight every, every, every single night.”

The New York Knicks (2-1) will have the next chance to slow Antetokounmpo’s historic pace as the Bucks travel back home to Milwaukee to take on another one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams Tuesday. The Bucks’ superstar forward will be ready.

“Good teams don’t lose two in a row,” Antetokounmpo said. “Gotta go back home. We play against the Knicks, and hopefully we can get a win.”

***

Eric Nehm is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Milwaukee Bucks. Previously, he covered the Bucks at ESPN Milwaukee and wrote the book “100 Things Bucks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” Nehm was named NSMA’s 2022 Wisconsin Sports Writer of the Year. Follow Eric on Twitter @eric_nehm

Related

Latest