Wednesday night’s Indiana Pacers vs. Milwaukee Bucks game didn’t quite have the same atmosphere as last week’s In-Season Tournament semi-finals matchup. Yet, the intensity was still the same, especially from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was out for revenge from the very beginning after being eliminated by Indiana in a hard-fought 128-119 game last week.
This time, even though there wasn’t a trip to the IST Finals on the line, the Bucks made sure to end on a different note, convincingly defeating the Pacers 140-126.
The Bucks moved to 17-7, in second place in the Eastern Conference after the win, but the story was all about Antetokounmpo after scoring a new team record 64 points.
The Greek Freak was incredible, becoming the first player in NBA history to make at least 20 field goals and 20 free throws in a single game while shooting at least 70% in both categories. Antetokounmpo also now holds the record for having the most points with under 30 field goal attempts in a game.
However, a decent chunk of Antetokounmpo’s scoring came when the game was mostly out of hand. Should he have even still been in the game?
The Bucks were leading the Pacers by 20 points when Antetokounmpo scored his 49th point with 5:34 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Indiana has the NBA’s highest-scoring offense, so the game was far from over, especially considering the Pacers managed to rally and get within 10 points with 1:55 remaining, not much time, but just enough to mount a comeback under the right circumstances.
Ultimately, Antetokounmpo was on fire in the game’s final frame, scoring 26 points in the fourth quarter. In doing so, he surpassed Bucks legend Michael Redd’s 57 points for the franchise’s all-time single-game scoring record.
So it’s no surprise to see Antetokounmpo wanted to make sure he got the game ball afterward, yet the Pacers also wanted to allow their rookie Oscar Tshiebwe to have his own piece of history after scoring the first points of his NBA career
In the end, Antetokounmpo got the win. He got his revenge, plus a new team record. And, of course, the game ball to go with it. However, the Pacers did still win that tournament game, which means the next time these two teams face off (Jan. 1), there are likely to be more fireworks.
Related: NBA MVP race: Where do Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tyrese Haliburton stand?