On October 27th, the Bucks' away game against the Cavaliers in the NBA regular season concluded. The Bucks lost to the Cavaliers 113-118.
In this game, Bucks player Giannis Antetokounmpo played 33 minutes, shooting 14-of-20 from the field, including 1-of-1 from three-point range, and 11-of-16 from the free throw line, finishing with 40 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
After the game, Antetokounmpo spoke with reporters about playing until the end without three rotation players:
I think that speaks volumes. The Cavaliers had the best record last season and were one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. And if you want to be a strong team, to really break through and do what you're supposed to do, you have to beat teams of that caliber. We think the Cavaliers and the Knicks might be the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, but time will tell. Nothing can be taken for granted.
I felt like we fought from the first minute to the last tonight. We were down by 15 or 16 points at one point, but we came back. My teammates made shots and put in extra effort on defense, and we kept the game close, but we couldn't win.
This was truly one of those games—you fight so hard, you just want to leave the arena with a win. You could argue we were missing guys like Kuzma, Porter Jr., and Anthony, but we still managed to make it to the end.
But that's not our goal this year—we have to give it our all no matter who plays. We need to be a group of players who play tough, make good decisions, stretch the floor, knock down open shots, and give their all every night. Every game has to be a battle. Even if I'm not playing, the team has to maintain the same mentality.
In the past, we might have said, "Oh, so-and-so didn't play," but that excuse is gone. Good teams don't lose two games in a row. We're going back home to play the Knicks and hopefully get a win.
