Bucks interim coach Joe Prunty discusses the Sterling Brown incident, Malcolm Brogdon not playing Friday night and the Brooklyn Nets. Jeff Maillet / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Maybe having eight days between games was the cure for what ailed Giannis Antetokounmpo's sore right knee — he did mention being "energized" following a practice earlier this week. Or maybe it was going up against the lowly Brooklyn Nets.
No matter the reason, the Milwaukee Bucks were certainly happy to have their all-star back on the court Friday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Antetokounmpo, who missed the past two games due to his knee injury, turned in a thoroughly dominant performance from start to finish, contributing 41 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks to lead the Bucks to a 116-91 win over the Nets.
“I felt like me today," Antetokounmpo said. “Those eight days they helped me a lot. I was able to get energized, get my confidence up, feel a little bit stronger — I had five weight sessions. But I felt lost, I definitely felt lost, because this is what I love to do is play games.”
And the statistical boost Antetokounmpo brought doesn't tell the whole story. His wall-to-wall intensity, emotion and swagger set the tone for the game and undoubtedly rubbed off on his teammates.
RELATED: Bucks guard Sterling Brown arrested, Tased by Milwaukee police
BOX SCORE: Bucks 116, Nets 91
NBA: Live scoreboard, standings, stats
His most emotional displays came late in each half. With the Bucks rolling — they held the Nets to 15 points in the first quarter, the lowest by a Bucks opponent in the opening period this season — Antetokounmpo Euro-stepped around Brooklyn rookie Jarrett Allen for a vicious dunk in the final minute of the first half. He followed that with a combination of a stomp of his left foot, primal scream and stink face before the Bucks went into halftime with a 58-35 lead.
“That’s what happens when you miss two games, miss a week after sitting out," Khris Middleton said. "You realize what you’re missing out on. I think he had a lot of fun out there tonight.”
Milwaukee took its foot off the pedal in the third quarter, which made the game interesting. Brooklyn got as close as seven points late in the period when D'Angelo Russell, who tied for the team high with 14 points off the bench, went on an eight-point tear.
But Antetokounmpo wasn't going to let the game stay close. He made a pair of jumpers and assisted on threes by Thon Maker and Matthew Dellavedova early in the fourth to help boost the lead back to double digits and coax a timeout from the Nets.
Antetokounmpo saved some of his best for last. Down the stretch, he got to the free-throw line at will, swished a jumper through a foul then postured around halfcourt to get a rise out of the sellout crowd then capped his effort with his third three-pointer in as many attempts to cap a 15-point fourth quarter.
“It’s something I’m going to keep doing going forward," Antetokounmpo said of his three-point shooting. "One of my goals is to not hesitate no more from three. I’ve been working on it on a daily basis and why should I hesitate? That’s what I’m thinking about right now. If I’m open I’m going to shoot it; hopefully, I can to make it, but I’m just going to play everything in the flow of the game. I’m not going to try to take bad shots, bad threes; that’s not what I do.”
Middleton contributed 21 points, saving his most emphatic points for last. With a just over a minute and a half remaining, he came up with a steal and passed to Eric Bledsoe, who scooped an alley-oop up for Middleton.
Watching from behind the play, Antetokounmpo wasn't sure if Bledsoe and Middleton were going to finish off the play in the way they hoped.
“Oh, he’s not going to get it," Antetokounmpo said with a laugh when asked what he thought as he watched the play unfold.
Antetokounmpo couldn't have been more wrong. Middleton went up and threw down a one-handed jam despite getting fouled by Quincy Acy on the dunk.
“Definitely wasn’t expecting that," Middleton said, later calling it the best all-time dunk. "Glad he threw it. I’m glad I was able to finish and get the foul. I won’t say we’ll see a lot more of that, but I’m glad it went down.”
That play was one of maybe that brought smiles to everyone on the roster. Going back to Monday's win over the Phoenix Suns, the Bucks have certainly brought an air of fun an excitement that had been missing recently.
“That’s what we’re getting back to, just having fun," Middleton said. "We’re playing for one another. When we’re having fun and relaxed but we play hard we’re one of the best teams, I feel like. The last two nights we showed it. Granted, it wasn’t against some of the best teams but we feel like we can do that every night.”
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Man down: Coming off a career-high 32-point performance Monday night against the Phoenix Suns, Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon sat out against the Nets due to right calf soreness. It was just the second game he's missed due to injury this season, with the first coming on Oct. 23 due to a sprained left ankle.
“It was something that we’ve been monitoring and seeing if he was going to be available and we made the decision today," Bucks interim coach Joe Prunty said. "In terms of the exact moment that it happened, I can’t give you that, but we’ve kept an eye on it and this is the decision we’ll go with for tonight.”
With back-to-back games coming up — first Sunday afternoon in Chicago before a home game against Philadelphia on Monday night — Brogdon's status remains up in the air.
Top five: As part of their 50th-anniversary celebration, the Bucks have been unveiling their top five players at each position during select games this season. The players were determined by a fan vote prior to the season.
On Friday night, the organization announced the picks for the top five shooting guards. They were Jon McGlocklin, Brian Winters, Sidney Moncrief, Michael Redd and Ray Allen.
UP NEXT
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (25-22) at Chicago Bulls (18-31).
When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: United Center.
About the Bulls: The Bucks ran across the Bulls when Chicago was at its hottest, dropping a pair of matchups at the Bradley Center in a span of 11 days. Chicago, which had just 3 wins in 17 games heading into December, went 10-6 that month before cooling off and playing sub-.500 ball in the new year. Nikola Mirotic, whose return from a facial fracture coincided with the Bulls' December surge, is leading Chicago with 17.0 points per game while shooting a team-high 42.9% from long range.