By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Milwaukee Bucks going through the longest road trip of the 2021-22 NBA Regular Season are feeling much more comfortable after back-to-back wins against the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was limited to 5/15 field goals at the Madison Square Garden but dished out eight assists, confirming once more trusting his teammates. Especially Pat Connaughton, knocking down three of his seven three-pointers in crunch time to secure the win and complete a season-high 23 points.
“If you are open, just shoot the ball. That’s what the team wants us to do,” explained the Greek Freak commenting on wide-open threes shaping a large chunk of the 26/50 triples in the latest win, “I just tried to make the right play and find the open guy.”
Five days after blowing a 21-point lead over the Knicks at Fiserv Forum, the Bucks saw a 24-point cushion evaporate on Wednesday evening. Effective three-point shooting was key in eventually improving to 6-6.
“We definitely had that in the back of our mind,” said Antetokounmpo regarding the recent loss to the Knicks, “Coming here tonight on a back-to-back, obviously our bodies are tired but at the end of the day we gotta do what we gotta do. We gotta go out there and compete, play hard defensively, move the ball, try to get open shots.”
The defending NBA champions have two more away games left in the five-game trip before returning for a five-game homestand. They will take on the Boston Celtics Friday and the Atlanta Hawks Sunday.
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