Antetokounmpo’s 54 lifts Bucks past Clippers
MILWAUKEE – Giannis Antetokounmpo celebrated his most famous 50-point performance by ordering 50 chicken nuggets at a Chick-fil-A drive-through the next day.
He already has an idea of how to commemorate reaching that plateau for the third time in the last month.
Antetokounmpo scored 20 of his 54 points in the fourth quarter and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame a 21-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 106-105 on Thursday night for their sixth consecutive victory.
“Tomorrow I think I’m going to go to Culver’s,” said Antetokounmpo, who also had 18 rebounds. “I’ll go get 50 cheeseburgers and try to eat as many as I can. The rest, I’ll have my son eat them or I give them to my dog.”
The Greek star has scored at least 50 points in three of his last 11 games. He had a career-high 55 on Jan. 3 in a 123-113 victory over Washington and scored 50 in only 30 minutes Sunday in a 135-110 triumph over New Orleans.
Antetokounmpo now has reached the half-century mark in six career regular-season games. That doesn’t include his 50-point outburst against the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals, which gave the Bucks their first title since 1971 and led to his trip to Chick-fil-A.
He joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in Bucks history to have at least three 50-point games in a season.
“It’s a great compliment to be up there with Kareem,” Antetokounmpo said. “Man, I never thought I was going to score 50 in the NBA when I got drafted. It’s an insane, crazy journey.”
Over his last six games, Antetokounmpo has averaged 40.2 points and 14.5 rebounds.
His two free throws with 1:47 remaining put Milwaukee ahead 106-105 for its first lead since the second quarter as the Bucks scored the final seven points of the game.