Ready to work after his big weekend
Antetokounmpo now focused on playoff run
NEW ORLEANS - It’s a quick reality check for Giannis Antetokounmpo after his whirlwind weekend at the NBA All-Star Game.
The business of the regular season remains, with the Milwaukee Bucks heading into their final 27 games and an Eastern Conference playoff berth still very much in reach.
A smiling Antetokounmpo said he “lived the moment” throughout the weekend and he scored 30 points to lead the East in its 192-182 loss to the Western Conference all-stars Sunday night.
But the Greek Freak admitted he missed the competition he sees every night in regular-season games when opponents actually play defense. He was one of the few players that showed his defensive skills in Sunday’s game as he finished with three steals and one block.
Bucks assistant coach Sean Sweeney was in New Orleans and Antetokounmpo told him it seemed strange to be away from the team’s routine.
“I was talking to Coach Sweeney,
and I told him, ‘I can’t wait until we get back and I start practicing and play games,’ ” Antetokounmpo said.
“I haven’t played for four days now and I feel like it’s a year. I was excited. I told the guys (all-star teammates) after the half that ‘I’m going now, I’m going to play hard now.’
“They told me, ‘OK, you’ve got it.’ That’s what I did.”
Antetokounmpo scored 12 points in the third quarter to reach 28, but East coach Brad Stevens did not put him back in the game until only about a minute remained.
He scored one more basket to hit the 30-point mark, and he easily beat the previous Bucks allstar record of 20 points established by Sidney Moncrief in the 1983 game.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar never scored 30 points in an all-star contest, even when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his high total as a member of the Bucks was 19 in the 1971 event.
The Bucks officially return to work Wednesday night with their first practice after the extended break. They host the Utah Jazz on Friday night to start the final stretch.
Milwaukee (25-30) is on the outside of the playoff picture in the ninth spot, but just one game behind eighth-place Detroit, two behind seventh-place Chicago and three behind sixth-place Indiana.
The Bucks have 13 home games and 14 road games remaining. They play five of their next six games and eight of their
next 10 at home, before heading out on a seasonlong six-game trip to Memphis and the West Coast.
They have lost Jabari Parker for the rest of the season and as much as 12 months after he suffered a second anterior cruciate ligament tear Feb. 8.
But shooting guard Khris Middleton has returned after missing the first 50 games and scored 20 points in the Bucks’ victory over Brooklyn before the break.
Antetokounmpo knows he will be counted on in a big way if the Bucks are to reach the playoffs. The team finished 33-49 last season and wants to return to the playoffs after reaching the postseason in 2015 in coach Jason Kidd’s first year with the franchise.
But the 6-foot-11 playmaker had a chance to pause during the all-star weekend, to share the time with his family and take stock of how far he has come in just four years in the NBA.
He surveyed row after row of reporters from all over the world during his postgame interview, as one of just four players brought to the podium. The others were East teammate Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook and allstar most valuable player Anthony Davis, who scored an All-Star Game record 52 points.
A Greek reporter asked Antetokounmpo if he remembered where he was four years ago and to assess how far he had come.
“It’s amazing, man,” Antetokounmpo said. “This story and this journey is incredible.
“A lot of people helped me. My family was right there for me. Going forward, I’m going to work hard and more good things are going to come along the way.
“Sometimes I look back and I cannot be mad. I cannot be mad at anything. Sometimes I see people say stuff or something is going on in my life that I don’t want to happen.
“But I’m just looking at the journey and looking at my brothers, looking at myself. I’m growing every day as a person and every day as a player. It’s unbelievable.”