Steve Nash the Nets’ coach in Brooklyn was not present as Giannis Antetokounmpo finished dismantling the team.
After arguing that Antetokounmpo should have been penalized for an offensive foul when bringing the ball upcourt against Patty Mills in the third quarter, Nash was ejected for the first time in his coaching career.
Wednesday night’s 110-99 triumph for the Milwaukee Bucks was led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and his team.
Nash who played for 18 years, said, “I was simply standing up for our men” when asked about the two times he was ejected. “It looked to me like Patty took a forearm to the throat from Giannis in front of the ref. That just didn’t seem right to me. I don’t think my actions were unduly dramatic. I felt bad that I received a technical.
The Greek Freak scored 43 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out 5 assists. In the second period, he had 34 points.
This came three nights after he scored 44 points on 17-of-21 shooting in a 125-105 victory against the Houston Rockets, making him just the fifth player in NBA history to score at least 44 points while playing fewer than 28 minutes in a game.
Antetokounmpo: “Sometimes I think I play not (to) my strength as much” “I’ve been training a lot over these few years and this summer and just so anxious to prove to myself that I can do what I’ve been working on,” he said of his lack of focus on his strengths. In the second half, “I sort of scraped that and just tried to drive as much as I can and find my teammates and get in the paint,” he said.
With roughly 4.5 minutes left in the third quarter and the Nets leading 70-66, Nash was called for a technical foul and then voiced his anger while being restrained by assistant coach Jacque Vaughn and forward Royce O’Neale. Nash’s ensuing outburst led to a second technical foul, which ultimately led to his ejection.
After that, Milwaukee blew away the Nets 44-29.
Antetokounmpo had a poor first half, shooting just 3 of 10, but he finished the game shooting an impressive 13 of 15. With his 34 second-half points, the Bucks outscored the Nets 67-44 to seal the victory.
Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer remarked, “That’s vintage Giannis.” That’s about the best he’s ever done, and he’s had a lot of terrific outings. In the second half tonight, he was the difference. What a fantastic guy he was.
For Milwaukee, Bobby Portis scored 20 points and pulled down 11 boards, and Jrue Holiday scored 15 points.
For the Nets, Kevin Durant had 33 points, Kyrie Irving had 27 and Royce O’Neale had 12.
After Irving scored 11 consecutive points for Brooklyn and made a jumper to make the score 83-83 with 10:09 left, the Nets remained scoreless for the next 5 1/2 minutes, allowing Milwaukee to take a 10-point lead.
Finally, with 4:37 left, Durant broke Brooklyn’s scoring slump with a driving layup, marking the first basket by a Net other than Irving since a free throw by Day’Ron Sharpe with 3:02 left in the third quarter.
TIP-INS
Nets: Markieff Morris a member of the Brooklyn Nets missed their second straight game due to personal circumstances. T.J. Warren (left foot) and Seth Curry (left ankle) have yet to play this year. Before the game, Nash said that Curry will be working out with the NBA G League club on Thursday.
Before tip-off, Nash expressed his hope that Ben Simmons, a three-time All-Star who missed the entire 2021-22 season due to back surgery, would rediscover “the excitement of playing the game.” On Wednesday, Simmons scored four points, grabbed five boards, and dished out nine assists. In the four games that Brooklyn has played thus far, he has not scored more than seven points once.
Bucks: Khris Middleton (wrist), Pat Connaughton (calf) and Joe Ingles (knee) are still sidelined for the Bucks. Keith Carrington who has been the head supervisor of Fiserv Forum event security since 2018, was honored with a minute of silence prior to the game. The offseason was when Carrington passed away.
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