Giannis insists Bucks won't relax despite great run
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Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo getting in a shot against Thunder centre Nerlens Noel despite losing his balance at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The hosts' 133-86 rout is the second-biggest winning margin in an NBA game this season.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MILWAUKEE • The Milwaukee Bucks may be "smiling" at the top of the National Basketball Association's Eastern Conference this season, but they are not letting their guard down, according to star man Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The forward - the reigning Most Valuable Player in the league - scored 32 points as the Bucks won their third game of the season by 40 or more points with a 133-86 home demolition of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
He added 13 rebounds and six assists while playing just 27 minutes for Milwaukee (51-8), who won their fifth straight game since the All-Star break.
"It feels good. It feels good seeing other guys going out there, playing hard and being up 40 points, sitting on the bench, relaxing, having fun," Antetokounmpo said. "Everyone is smiling. Games like these are always the best games.
"But we were extremely ready. We moved the ball. We were defending. We know that in the fourth quarter, they always come back to the game. We never relaxed."
The 47-point victory narrowly missed being the biggest margin in the league this season.
In November, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Atlanta Hawks by 49 points in a 150-101 blowout.
But the Bucks have now tied the NBA record for most 40 plus wins in a season with three. According to ESPN Stats & Info, they are the ninth team in history to do so.
Milwaukee used a five-minute stretch in the second quarter to seize control of the game, going on a 24-2 run. The Bucks already led 46-43 before the run.
They drained a season-high 21 three-pointers in the win. Wesley Matthews and Pat Connaughton each nailed four from behind the arc.
Milwaukee dominated on the glass as well, out-rebounding the Thunder 66-36.
Chris Paul, who scored a team-high 18 points for Oklahoma City (37-23), called it a spanking.
"We got a lot of really good looks, but our defence and our rebounding wasn't much tonight," the guard said. "It's just an old-fashioned butt-whooping."
In Los Angeles, Paul George scored 24 points, Kawhi Leonard added 19 points and the Clippers routed the Denver Nuggets 132-103.
George, who struggled offensively in the previous two games with 11 and seven points, connected on six of eight three-pointers and nine of 15 overall from the floor, as the Clippers (40-19) won their third straight game.
The win allowed the Clippers to pull into a second-place tie with Denver in the Western Conference, behind the Los Angeles Lakers (45-12).
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS