Basketball: Giannis Antetokounmpo rolls up 42 points in Bucks' win over Pelicans
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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo dunking the ball against New Orleans Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW ORLEANS – Giannis Antetokounmpo had 42 points and 10 rebounds, and the visiting Milwaukee Bucks gave the New Orleans Pelicans their season-worst fourth consecutive loss, 128-119, on Monday night.
Brook Lopez added 30 points, former Pelican Jrue Holiday had 18 points and 11 assists and Pat Connaughton scored 11 points. The Bucks shot 55.6 per cent (45 of 81) from the floor.
Jonas Valanciunas had a season-high 37 points and 18 rebounds, C. J. McCollum scored 31 points, Zion Williamson had 18 and Trey Murphy III 13 for the Pelicans, whose losing streak comes on the heels of a seven-game winning run.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer admitted that his team’s game plan was to stifle the “very unique and special” 2019 No. 1 draft pick Williamson, who has averaged 25.2 points per game this season.
He said: “We definitely did not expect him to have 28 (in the first half) but sometimes guys are gonna go off when you try to kind of close the gap and make it tough for other guys. Like for tonight, it was Zion.”
Antetokounmpo added: “He had 28 in the half but we were still up five, so I think our game plan did not change... but, at the end of the day, we’ve got to stick with our game plan, which is make it tough on the people that we believe that can beat us.”
He was referring to Williamson, who was restricted to nine points in the first three quarters, thanks to good defensive work by his former teammate Holiday.
Said Holiday: “We know he is such a big part of their offence that if he’s not scoring, we have a good chance. I feel like we kind of frustrated him.”
On his guard’s defensive abilities, Budenholzer said: “Jrue, in a kind of subtle, understated way is very, very strong and I think he loved the challenge, beating him to a spot, having the strength to kind of take a hit, pressuring him a little bit.
“There’s probably only a handful of guards, if even that many, like Jrue that could maybe pick him up higher, pick him up earlier, do some different things to him.”
Milwaukee’s attention on Williamson opened the door for the Pelicans outside. Valanciunas drained seven three-pointers and McCollum had six three-pointers.
They helped New Orleans keep it close but it was not enough.
Said Pelicans coach Willie Green: “The moment we decided to pick it up in the fourth quarter, we’re right back in the game. I didn’t think we sustained it for 48 minutes.”
Milwaukee led by as many as 18 in the fourth quarter. New Orleans cut the deficit to three on McCollum’s basket with 1min 32sec remaining, but Holiday answered with a three-pointer and Lopez drove for a lay-up as Milwaukee pulled away again.
The East-leading Bucks improved to 22-8. The Pelicans, who were briefly atop the West, are now 18-12.
Green said: “We’ll be fine. We have to be able to accept some of the bad with the good... We have to climb our way out of it.” REUTERS, AFP
