5 hours Ago By Sean Keane, Yardbarker
The Milwaukee Bucks couldn't make their threes Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls. So Giannis Antetokounmpo turned up the inside shooting. GIANNIS CAN'T BE STOPPED 25 PTS in the 3Q! https://t.
co/GK6mY0g7zP pic.twitter.com/MRytVrFg7k Antetokounmpo shot 16-of-20 inside the paint in a performance that felt like it dated back from before the modern three-point era.
It would have been a more effective performance had he shot better than 7-of-14 from the free throw line. In the third quarter, Antetokounmpo was a one-man team for the Bucks. He scored 25 of the team's 29 points in the quarter, holding off the Bulls' comeback effort as Chicago made eight three-pointers to Milwaukee's one, a jumper by A.
J. Green. The only three-pointer from Antetokounmpo was a three-point play on an and-one.
Aside from Green, who shot 5-for-7 from deep, the rest of the Bucks shot 27.6 percent on threes. Damian Lillard scored 20 points but made only two of his 10 triples.
But the Bucks may have found something in feeding their two-time MVP. Not only did Antetokounmpo score 40-plus points for the 52nd time in his career, but he finished the game with only one turnover and one personal foul. It was like Milwaukee was running a ball-control NFL offense, feeding a bruising running back and preventing any easy points off turnovers.
Antetokounmpo is taking shots within three feet of the basket at the highest rate of his career, and it's paying off. The three-point percentage should improve from the rest of the team, but the Bucks may be realizing that Antetokounmpo close to the basket might be the highest-percentage shot in basketball..
