Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to a 109-95 win over the Knicks. He scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. He did an on-court interview explaining how badly he wanted to play on Christmas.
Finally, he felt he’d done enough.
Antetokounmpo answered his last question then walked away declaring, “I’m going to go see my family.”
Antetokounmpo and the Bucks could settle early into a relaxing holiday. Their victory over New York was as uncompetitive as expected. Milwaukee led by double digits the final 17 minutes.
This was the Bucks’ first Christmas game since 1977, and they showed they belonged on the big stage. They didn’t even need to get hot to cruise to the easy win. Milwaukee shot just 6-for-32 on 3-pointers.
It didn’t matter because the Knicks are so lousy. They were given this game only because of their market size, not team quality. Rookie Kevin Knox (21 points) showed promise, and maybe the Knicks will eventually become worthy. But they’re clearly not there yet.