On Nov. 25 2019, Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his second career 50-point game. It came during a Bucks home game against the Utah Jazz, in front of what-seemed-like a sell-out crowd at the Fiserv Forum.
MVP chants for Giannis. He put up 50 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists 🔥 (via @Bucks) pic.twitter.com/gji8P4bK7R
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) November 26, 2019
While the Greek Freak's first career 50-point game – a 52-point performance against the 76ers in March earlier that year – came in a loss, he was determined to ensure this one ended with a different result.
In 39 minutes of action, he finished with a season-high 50 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, and two steals on 17-of-31 shooting from the field. He committed no turnovers and scored 32 of his season-high tally in the second half including 14 in the final quarter.
Yes, the Jazz were playing without their defensive anchor in center Rudy Gobert but the Bucks were a man short in Khris Middleton, so while it might have been easier at the rim for Antetokounmpo, he was doing it with the extra offensive burden.
The performance, which resulted in the Bucks earning a 122-118 win – the team's eighth straight victory – helped Antetokounmpo put his name alongside multiple franchise records.
It tied Antetokounmpo with Michael Redd for the second spot on the franchise's all-time list for most 50-point games, a chart Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads with 10.
He joined Abdul-Jabbar was the only Bucks player ever to have multiple 50-10 games. This 50-10 double-double extended his double-double streak to open the 2019-20 campaign to 17, becoming only the second player since the NBA-ABA merger, after Bill Walton, to record a double-double in each of his first 17 games of a season.
"I'm impressed, I'm not going to lie to you," said Antetokounmpo, the reigning MVP. "Great game and all that. My second 50-point game of my career. Doing it with zero turnovers and all that, that's great. I see that they made 21 3s, and as a team we were still able to be in the game and still win the game. At the end of the day, all that matters is a win."
He became only the second player in NBA history to finish with at least 50 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and zero turnovers. It was also the first instance in Bucks history that a player scored at least 50 with zero turnovers.
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