Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee Bucks pulled off a big victory in Game 1 of the Boston Celtics-Milwaukee Bucks second-round series of the playoffs, stating that you should never sleep on the defending champions.
The Bucks thrive when they are overlooked, and being without Khris Middleton gave many people a reason to underestimate this team. However, they weren’t having any of that and demolished the Celtics 101-89 at TD Garden. Giannis didn’t have a 30 or 40-PT explosion, but his triple-double helped his squad take the first game of the series.
The Celtics tried everything to diminish Antetokounmpo, but the player actually enjoys that and doesn’t run away from contact. After the game was over, Giannis spoke with reporters, revealing that he loves feeling beat up after a match.
"Maybe I'm weird…I love feeling beat up after games"
Giannis on the physicality in Game 1 of BUCKS/CELTICS. pic.twitter.com/Fy8rmOjbWv
— NBA (@NBA) May 1, 2022
“First of all, I don’t know, maybe I’m weird. I thrive through physicality. Like a lot feeling beat up after games, I don’t know why. That got me thinking like I’m a weirdo, but when the game finishes, I just gotta look at my body and feel like I’m beat up… I was physical, they were physical, I feel like I gave everything for my team. Obviously, everybody feels a little bit beat up, our team, their team, but at the end of the day, it’s the playoff, you gotta get ready, mentally and physically for Game 2 and you can never take anything for granted.”
Giannis had a terrific game, even making one of the best plays of the young 2022 NBA playoffs with an incredible alley-oop off the backboard to him. He left his everything on the court, impacting the game in different ways, demonstrating he’s the best player in the world right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiQIf6ShulQ
The Bucks have the chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead in Game 2, but the Celtics will be ready to get revenge after a painful defeat. Antetokounmpo is still on a mission; winning the title last year hasn’t satisfied him and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to defend the championship.
