47-11-5: Bucks’ Antetokounmpo posts another rare stat line

Welcome to the 2020-21 edition of the Bucks Weekly Spotlight. Each Thursday, we’ll track the progress of the players who are trying to help Milwaukee make a championship run and give updates on other players from the previous week.

This is the 6th edition of the 2020-21 Bucks Weekly Spotlight.

SPOTLIGHT ON …

Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo

This just in: The Greek Freak has achieved another statistical anomaly.

Milwaukee’s five-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday night in a 125-124 loss to Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns. But Antetokounmpo had his best statistical night of the 2020-21 season.

Antetokounmpo went off for a season-high 47 points against the Suns, going 15-for-23 from the field (65.2%) and 17-for-21 from the free-throw line (81%). He also added 11 rebounds and five assists.

It was his second 40+ point game of the season, and the most points he’s scored in a road game. Antetokounmpo has bested 47 points three times at home over his eight-year career: 52 points against Philadelphia (March 17, 2019), 50 points vs. Utah (Nov. 25, 2019) and 48 points against Dallas (Dec. 16, 2019).

But what Antetokounnpo achieved Wednesday night goes deeper than his point total.

GIANNIS IS UPON US#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/VLSck2i5PF

— FOX Sports Wisconsin (@fswisconsin) February 11, 2021

The Greek Freak is the first Bucks player to notch 45+ points, 11+ rebounds and 5+ assists while shooting 65% from the field since the 3-point era began in 1980.

It’s only happened 19 times in that span by 16 different players. Utah’s Adrian Dantley achieved it twice in 1981 and ’82, and Chicago’s Michael Jordan notched it twice in the 1988-89 campaign. LeBron James has also posted such a stat line twice in his career — in 2011 and 2017.

No NBA player has logged a 45/11/5 stat line with 65%+ shooting since … well, 10 days ago. Nikola Jokic did it in Denver’s 128-117 win over Utah on Jan. 31. But before the Joker, no player had accomplished the feat since Joel Embiid on Nov. 15, 2017.

All that aside, Antetokounmpo’s free-throw shooting might be the most encouraging part of the Bucks’ loss. A career 71.7% shooter from the charity stripe, Antetokounmpo has shot 63.3% over the last two seasons. His 2020-21 campaign got off to a horrendous start from the line, shooting 57.5% over the first 12 contests. That included a dreadful 1-for-10 performance against Dallas on Jan. 15.

In the month of February, however, the Greek Freak is shooting 76.3% from the free-throw line, getting to the stripe an average of 9.8 times per game.

It’s not the strongest part of his game. In fact, his 63.3% clip this season ranks fourth-worst among the 38 players with 100+ attempts from the free-throw line. But Antetokounmpo leads the league in attempts from the stripe (245), so we’re happy with a bit of progress.

BUCKSHOTS

— Bryn Forbes continues to shoot the lights out. The 27-year-old guard is shooting 70% from 3-point range (14 for 20) over the last three contests. In his last nine games, Forbes is knocking down 58% of his 3s (29 of 50). Ridiculous.

— Khris Middleton has picked up double-doubles in back-to-back games, logging 29 points and 12 assists against Denver on Monday and 18 points and 11 assists against Phoenix on Wednesday. It’s the third time Middleton has logged back-to-back double-doubles in his career, but it’s the first time he’s done it with points and assists.

— The NBA G League returned Wednesday, tipping off its 2021 season from a bubble at Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Fla. The Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate, opted out, but the Bucks have a couple of rookies (Sam Merrill, Jordan Nwora) and one two-way player (Mamadi Diakite) in the G League.

— Nwora, the No. 45 overall pick of the 2020 draft, racked up a team-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting for G League Salt Lake City on Wednesday. Merrill, selected 60th overall, went 0-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with five points in his season debut for the Memphis Hustle.