Giannis Antetokounmpo returned burned from the Eurobasket.
It was his first experience with the Greek national team in more than three years and he fell short of the medal hunt by falling to Germany in the round of 16.
“Playing so much basketball in the last few years, you need to take a break not only physically, but mentally, get away from the game, spend time with your family, and just sit on the couch and eat Doritos.
It sounds bad, but you need it”, recognized the two-time NBA MVP before starting the preseason.
After a good session of hooks and Netflix, the Hellenic giant shook the ghosts of Berlin off his back and hit the road to propel the Milwaukee Bucks to the best start to the season in franchise history.
With the 34 leading on court, the 2021 champions have swept their opening eight matches,
The Greek Freak
resting on the bench due to a sore left knee, the Bucks have raised the bar by getting their ninth straight victory against Oklahoma City Thunder (108-94) to star in the best start of a team since the Golden State Warriors of the 2015-2016 season, who hold the absolute record for a season start with 24 games in a row without defeat.
Barely scratched in almost a month of competition, despite still being without the injured Chris Middleton, the Milwaukee Bucks are the only undefeated franchise in the NBA.
Teams like the Sixers, the Nets or the Hawks have suffered the best team of the moment, which has prevailed with an average of 11.7 points ahead of its rivals.
After eight games in which Antetokounmpo posted MVP numbers (32.6 points per game, 12.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists), it was time for the star to take a break during the Thunder's visit to Wisconsin .
The power forward suffered from some discomfort in his left knee after the last game against Minnesota and stayed on the bench eating some popcorn while he watched his team do what they do best: win.
It's always snack time when Giannis is on the bench.
🤣🍿 pic.twitter.com/5o6Sny2Kds
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 6, 2022
Those from Oklahoma were confident that the absence of the star would put them closer to a possible victory, but they ran into a choral team, intense in defense and tremendously dominant in the paint.
The Bucks grabbed 61 rebounds to 47 from their rival.
Brook Lopez (25 points on 10-for-16 shooting) and Bobby Portis (12 points and 21 rebounds) were enough to wipe out the Thunder.
The Spanish Serge Ibaka contributed eight points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 24 minutes on the court.
Oklahoma held the pulse during the first quarter after a great start in which they led by 10 points.
But the Bucks reacted, leveled the match by asserting their powerful inside game, and dealt the lethal blow earlier in the second quarter with a run of 33-19 (67-53 on the scoreboard).
After the break, the Thunder's legs trembled and in a flash, the Bucks put 24 points behind thanks to a pair of three-pointers in a row by Jevon Carter (88-64).
Oklahoma got close to 10 points in the last quarter (97-87), but a new rush by Brook López (9 of his 25 points in this stretch) ended the hopes of a comeback.
"Fear the Deer" (fear the deer) is the motto of this start of the NBA.
Celtics set record for 3-pointers
Almost 1,500 kilometers from where the Bucks signed their ninth straight victory, the Celtics, the team that eliminated them in the conference semifinals last season, set a new historical record in one of the temples of the NBA, Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Bostonians surpassed the Knicks (118-133) with 27 three-pointers, a franchise record, in 51 attempts (52.9% accuracy).
After starring in the NBA final with the most triples in history, last year against Golden State, the Celtics have made the perimeter their great weapon.
Every player in green who took the floor hit at least one 3-pointer, and the
Jays,
Tatum and Brown added six bingos each.
The 27 3-pointers were two more than the team's previous record, set against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 15 of this year, and two short of the NBA's all-time record, set by the Milwaukee Bucks against the Miami Heat on Dec. 29. of 2020.
🎯 The @celtics were locked in from deep, they hit a franchise-record 27 3-pointers in their win!
#BleedGreen pic.twitter.com/nKtTjCstot
— NBA (@NBA) November 6, 2022
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