MILWAUKEE _ The stank face was back for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
And that was good news for the Bucks and the pumped up holiday crowd of 15,921 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 39 points while leading the Bucks to a 123-96 rout of the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Antetokounmpo hit 15 of 17 free throws and added eight rebounds and six assists.
His spectacular all-around play brought loud chants of "MVP, MVP" when he was at the foul line in the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo brought out the stank face after he spiked a dunk in the first half.
Jabari Parker added 21 points and eight rebounds for Milwaukee (14-14), which bounced back after two losses to Cleveland. The Bucks and Wizards play again Monday night in Washington.
Malcolm Brogdon had a career-high 17 points and seven assists and Greg Monroe contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks, who fell just shy of a season-high point total, the 125 they scored against Indiana on Nov. 3.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks said before the game he was voting for Antetokounmpo to be an all-star this season, and nothing he saw Friday was likely to change his mind.
Otto Porter and John Wall each had 18 points for Washington (13-16) and Markieff Morris had 14. Wall led the Wizards with 10 assists.
The Bucks got off to a hot start, taking a 37-29 lead after one quarter and shooting 68.2 percent (15 of 22 field goals).
Brogdon and Monroe made an instant impact off the bench and Antetokounmpo had 10 points in the quarter.
The Bucks extended their lead to 56-36 on two free throws by Monroe with 6:55 left in the second quarter.
Washington trimmed the deficit to 13 points before a 6-0 spurt by Milwaukee. John Henson scored off an Antetokounmpo feed. Parker then scored on a spinning shot on the fast break and Brogdon made a steal that led to a finger roll by Antetokounmpo.
That pushed the Bucks' lead to 66-47 with 2:55 left in the half and prompted a Washington timeout.
Milwaukee led at halftime, 73-58, and shot 66.7 percent in the half (28 of 42 field goals).
The 73 points were the most scored by the Bucks in a half this season, beating the previous high of 66 set against Golden State on Nov. 19.
Antetokounmpo had 24 points and five assists in 19 first-half minutes and Parker added 14 points and six rebounds. Monroe had 10 points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes.
Porter led the Wizards with 16 points and was 4 for 4 from 3-point range, and Wall had 10 points and seven assists.
In the third quarter, Matthew Dellavedova found Antetokounmpo with a bounce pass that led to a three-point play, then found him again on an alley-oop for a dunk and an 84-67 Bucks lead.
Antetokounmpo banked a shot home to end the third quarter and give the Bucks a 100-78 lead, and he sported a big smile after the play.
