Nigerian-born NBA star, Giannis Antetokounmpo turned to ‘cheerleader’ on the sidelines, and contributed indirectly top help his side achieve a 117-106 win against Chicago Bulls.
Sports247.ng reports that the injured Antetokounmpo spent most of the game time standing on the sideline and cheering, as Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon each scored 22 points.
While the All-Star forward sat out with a sore right knee, Bucks got over a sluggish start to pick their 17th win in 19 games, moving to a season-high 32 games over .500 in the process.
The high-point was that Bucks beat The Bulls without Antetokounmpo, as Lauri Markkanen and Robin Lopez each scored 26 for Chicago, but their season-high three-game win streak came to an end.
It was the ninth straight 20-point game for Markkanen, who scored a career-best 35 against Boston on Saturday.
Lopez had his highest scoring game of the season. But coming off a career-best 42-point performance, Zach LaVine finished with 11.
He scored just one point after the first quarter, though he did have nine assists and eight rebounds in the game.
The Bucks used a huge second quarter to grab a nine-point lead after falling behind by 14. That propelled them to their eighth straight road win – their best streak since a nine-game run during the 1981-82 season.
Brogdon hit 4 of 7 3-pointers. Middleton nailed 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. Nikola Mirotic scored 13 in his first game in Chicago since the Bulls traded him to New Orleans last season.
”We have one of the best players in the NBA,” Brogdon said. ”But when he’s out, we still have a really good team.”
”Would not surprise me in the least,” Bulls coach Jim Boylen said about the possibility of Milwaukee winning the NBA championship.
