Giannis Antetokounmpo is called the “Greek Freak” for good reason and the two-time MVP’s freakish athleticism was on full display on Tuesday night. Giannis dominated against the New York Knicks in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinal and on one play, he covered basically three-fourths of the court while dribbling just once.
https://twitter.com/GiannisWorld/status/1732218354465685962
There aren’t too many players in the league who could have done that. The Knicks just had no answer for Giannis all night, as he finished with 35 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 146-122 win.
The 29-year-old went viral later in the night as well, as Giannis had a priceless reaction on realizing they get at least $100,000 prize money after winning this game.
NBA Fans Called Out Giannis For Traveling On The Play
While many marveled at Antetokounmpo’s athleticism on that play, there were more than a fair few who felt the basket shouldn’t have counted. NBA fans called out Giannis for traveling and some even felt he had carried here.
One joked that Antetokounmpo traveled to Greece.
traveled to greece
— champagnebasel🔻 (@bayzoll) December 6, 2023
A fan thought this was a carry and a travel.
https://twitter.com/_BingoURight/status/1732223111485923354
One roasted Giannis for carrying without a permit.
Bro carrying without a permit 💀
— Bruno Sarducci 🌊 🏄♂️ (@dudeonthebay) December 6, 2023
One fan had a rather sarcastically applauded the officials.
Everybody knows that when you carry AND travel in the same play both calls nulify themselves and cannot be called. Good refereeing here.
— Alfo (@AlfonsoPoblete) December 6, 2023
One went a step beyond travel, stating that Giannis went on a journey.
The journey
— Fantastic Bean (@LakersPixie) December 6, 2023
Was it a travel and a carry? Well, I’ll let you be the judge of that. With how Giannis plays, such kinds of debates do end up becoming somewhat commonplace.
He has sequences like the one you see above and the one below so many times during a game.
The officials almost never call the violation on him, though. I’ll let you decide if that’s because he doesn’t travel or that he gets away with it because he’s a superstar.
The Bucks Are Starting To Click
The Bucks struggled a bit at the start of the season, as they were 5-4 after nine games. They were trying to figure out how to make things work with Damian Lillard in the lineup and as time has gone by, they’ve started to click.
The Bucks are now 10-2 in their last 12 games after getting the better of the Knicks. The two defeats were narrow ones as well, losing 119-116 to the Boston Celtics and then 120-113 in overtime to the Chicago Bulls.
They are now looking a bit like the formidable outfit that we envisioned they’d be after trading for Lillard and his play is a big reason why. After he struggled at the start of the season, Lillard has now averaged 26.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 8.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 41.5% from beyond the arc in his last 10 games.
Combine that with Giannis averaging 30.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 61.1% from the field this season, and you get arguably the best duo in the NBA. With the two leading the way, the Bucks have an offensive rating of 119.2, which ranks third in the league.
There are still some concerns on the other end of the court, though, as the Bucks’ defensive rating of 115.3 ranks 21st in the league. It is often said that defense wins championships and the Bucks need to improve on that end of the court if they are to win it all.
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