Antetokounmpo joins 20,000-point club as Bucks roll past short-handed Mavericks 137-107
MILWAUKEE — — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points to bring his career total over 20,000, Damian Lillard added 34 points and Kevin Porter Jr. had a triple-double as the surging Milwaukee Bucks trounced the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 137-107 on Wednesday night.
The 30-year-old Antetokounmpo has scored 20,010 career points, becoming the 52nd player to reach 20,000. The only players to get to the 20,000-point mark at a younger age were LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.
Antetokounmpo, who played less than 25 minutes, also had 15 rebounds as the Bucks won for the eighth time in their last nine games.
Porter had 10 points and 11 rebounds while playing 26 minutes off the bench, and he matched a career high with 14 assists. His previous triple-doubles came in March 2022 and March 2023 with the Houston Rockets.
Klay Thompson scored 28 for the Mavericks, who had only eight available players in their first game since Kyrie Irving tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Monday.
Takeaways
Mavericks: Dallas simply didn’t have enough players suited up to have much of a chance in this one.
Bucks: Milwaukee was playing for a second straight night after winning 127-101 at Atlanta on Tuesday, but the one-sided nature of this win enabled Antetokounmpo and Lillard to get some needed rest. Both sat out the entire fourth quarter. Milwaukee has gone 7-1 since Bobby Portis began serving a 25-game suspension. Before this suspension, the Bucks had been 2-5 in games Portis had missed.
Key moment
Dallas led 19-18 just over seven minutes into the game before the Bucks went on an 18-3 run. Lillard scored eight points during that stretch and capped the spurt by hitting a jumper with 1:13 left in the opening period.
Key stat
The Bucks posted their highest point total and most lopsided victory of the season.
Up next
The Mavericks host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. The Bucks host the Orlando Magic on Saturday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
MILWAUKEE — As Giannis Antetokounmpo considered his latest career milestone, becoming the sixth-youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points during the Bucks’ 137-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, he reflected on all he has gone through to arrive to this point.
“I always look back at myself, and I don’t want to say I get emotional, but it’s a good feeling,” Antetokounmpo said after the game. “I’m proud of the journey, but I have so much more to give.”
Antetokounmpo reached the milestone in the third quarter Wednesday night while putting up 32 points and 15 rebounds in 25 minutes in Milwaukee’s blowout victory.
The team played a tribute video to Antetokounmpo on the video board after the milestone, although Antetokounmpo joked that coach Doc Rivers kept distracting him during the timeout so he could not watch it.
“He kept saying, ‘Giannis, Giannis, focus on the play,'” Antetokounmpo said with a laugh. “Like, Coach, you [don’t] get a lot of 20,000-points moments in your career.”
Wednesday’s victory was the Bucks’ fourth straight and the eighth in their past nine games. They improved to a season-best 11 games over .500, a stark turnaround following their 2-8 start to the season.
Antetokounmpo said he was proud of the habits his team was starting to build, especially since the All-Star break. Damian Lillard scored 34 points, the 15th time both he and Antetokounmpo have scored at least 30 points in a game since becoming teammates, the third most by a duo in their first two seasons in NBA history, according to ESPN Research.
When Antetokounmpo got back to the bench after reaching the milestone, which Lillard achieved last December, Lillard had a simple message: Welcome to the club.
“It is a select group of guys that for a decade-plus have just been putting it together every year getting better, performing against the scouting report, just showing up night in and night out and doing it over a long, long period of time,” Lillard said after the game. “We all know the names. Obviously, to get to 20,000 points is not just being a guy that has opportunity. You got to keep getting better. You got to go against the best defenders, you got to go against the scouting reports, you got to take care of yourself and be available.”
Antetokounmpo is also the seventh player born outside the U.S. to score 20,000 points, according to ESPN Research. He said he thought about all he sacrificed in order to get to this point, including his humble beginnings in Greece before he turned himself into an NBA superstar.
“I hope a lot of people see me, and I represent the people that might not have it all,” Antetokounmpo said. “Might not be the most talented people, but they are disciplined. They show up every single night to do the right thing, no matter the outcome. They keep on coming back and keep on being disciplined in their craft. So I hope I can represent all those people.”
Antetokounmpo said the milestone meant a lot to him, and he also appreciated how difficult it was for the people ahead of him on the list.
“It is a lot. It’s a lot of points,” he said. “I can’t imagine people that score 30,000 like KD. Or LeBron, score [50,000] points. You got to recognize, that’s greatness.”
But Antetokounmpo, who turned 30 in December, also made it known he is not done. When asked if he planned to reach 30,000, he responded, “One thousand percent.”
“I’ll get there,” he said. “I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I’m going to show up every single day and I’m going to do it. It’s not a goal of mine. I don’t think it counts in your legacy if you score 25,000 or 27 or 30,000. Winning counts more.
“I’m 30 years old. I have so much to give. I’m changing my game. I’m becoming more efficient, more effective. I have so much to learn, and I am just going to try to focus on that. So hopefully I can have another video without being interrupted.”
ESPN
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Kyrie Irving (torn ACL) out for rest of season
Kyrie Irving suffered his injury in Monday’s 122-98 loss to the Kings on a drive to the basket in the first quarter.
From NBA.com News Services
After the shorthanded Mavericks lost Kyrie Irving to a left knee sprain, staying afloat in the West becomes a bigger challenge for Dallas.
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Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving has a torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season, the team announced Tuesday.
Irving was injured in the first quarter of the Mavs’ 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. Following the injury, Irving made two free throws with tears rolling down his cheeks before leaving the game.
The 32-year-old was fouled by DeMar DeRozan on a drive to the basket and his right foot landed on the foot of the Kings’ Jonas Valanciunas. Irving lost his balance and then landed awkwardly on his left leg, and his knee appeared to hyperextend before he fell to the floor.
It’s the biggest setback so far this season among a slew of injuries for the Mavericks, who lost 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis to a groin injury in his Dallas debut following the seismic trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The presence of Irving was the biggest reason the Mavericks felt they could proceed with the controversial Davis-for-Doncic deal, a move that infuriated the Dallas fan base.
After he was hurt, Irving grabbed his leg and remained on the floor for multiple minutes. Davis, who is recovering from injury himself, was among those helping Irving to the locker room before Kidd spoke to Irving, who then returned to take two free throws.
After converting both to pull Dallas within 23-18, Irving was helped into the tunnel, and the Mavs quickly ruled him out for the rest of the night with a left knee sprain.
“That’s just who, I mean, Kai’s a tough guy,” Kidd said. “I asked him as they were taking him off the court, ‘Are you good if you leave without shooting? You’re ruled out.’ So they took him to the free-throw line, and he shot the free throws and then we got him out.”
Irving is now out for the season, and figures to be in the final stages of recovery when teams report for training camp for the 2025-26 season. Irving has a $44 million player option for next season.
The loss dropped Dallas to 32-30, putting it 3 1/2 games ahead of the No. 11-seeded Phoenix Suns and four games ahead of the No. 12-seeded Portland Trail Blazers. The Mavs entered March as one of four Western Conference teams with more March and April games against the Eastern Conference (12) than they have against the West (10).
Irving’s decision to shoot free throws was reminiscent of the late Kobe Bryant, who made two game-tying foul shots for the Los Angeles Lakers after tearing his Achilles tendon late in the fourth quarter of a victory over Golden State on April 12, 2013.
A nine-time All-Star, Irving came in averaging 25 points per game and has become Dallas’ primary outside shooting threat following the trade of superstar Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1.
Irving missed the end of the 2017-18 season after he had surgery on his left knee to remove two screws that were implanted after he suffered a patellar fracture during the 2015 NBA Finals. Irving developed an infection at the site of the screws, and had to have them removed.
This season, Irving appeared in 50 games (he played in 58 games last season for Dallas) and was rolling lately, scoring 30 points in five of his past seven games.
The Mavericks were already playing without Davis — who left his only game for Dallas on Feb. 8 with a groin injury after being acquired for Doncic — as well as Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II and P.J. Washington Jr.
Dallas also lost reserve guard Jaden Hardy in the third period to a right ankle sprain and finished with nine players. Kai Jones, signed by Dallas on Monday to a two-way contract in the wake of injuries to multiple big men, led the Mavericks with 21 points, a career high, and nine rebounds.
“It seems every time we get close to getting somebody back, someone goes down,” Kidd said. “Tonight, both Hardy and Kai go down. So, we’re running out of bodies here.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Anthony Davis has been out of the lineup since making his Dallas debut on Feb. 8 but is making ‘good progress’ in his recovery.
Gafford joins Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and Dwight Powell among the injured frontcourt players for Dallas.
Dallas’ second-year center has been out of the lineup since Jan. 14 and will miss significant time.
Anthony Davis is unable to participate in the NBA All-Star Game because of left abductor strain.
The Indiana Pacers (35-25) go for a 3rd consecutive victory when they visit the Atlanta Hawks (28-34) on Thursday night.
Pritchard (43 points, 10 3s) and White (41 points, 9 3s) are the 1st teammates in NBA history to make 9 or more 3-pointers each in a game.
Only LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan reached the 20K milestone at a younger age.
Donovan Mitchell scores 26 points as Cleveland beats Miami 112-107 to secure at least a top-6 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The 17-year NBA veteran receives a standing ovation in his 1st game back in Cleveland since signing with Miami 2 years ago.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo has reached 20,000 career points, making him the 52nd player in NBA history to do so.
The Milwaukee Bucks star crossed the threshold with his trademark strength and speed in the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks, driving through the paint for a layup.
The most recent player to reach 20K points was Antetokounmpo’s teammate Damian Lillard, who did so last season. The number of NBA players in that club is 52, though it expands to 56 if you count ABA stats.
The Bucks had a tribute video for Antetokounmpo, who has been in Milwaukee since he was 19 years old during the 2013-14 season.
The milestone came a day after LeBron James crossed the much-anticipated threshold of 50,000 points, though that mark included playoff scoring. Going by regular season only, which is how this stuff usually works, James is at a record 41,187, which is still wild to think about. Antetokounmpo has been in the NBA for 12 seasons, won his first MVP six years ago, has only increased his scoring since then, and isn’t even halfway to James. Of course, most careers pale when compared to James.
Antetokounmpo is on a Hall of Fame track in his career and is the pretty easy answer for the best player in Bucks history, leading the team all time in games, minutes, field goals, rebounds, assists, blocks, triple-doubles, field-goal percentage and, of course, points.
Now, the two-time MVP, former Defensive Player of the Year and eight-time All-Star has another entry on his resume.
