MILWAUKEE _ There's no mistaking it, Giannis Antetokounmpo is feeling much better.
After missing Sunday's game and being limited to nine minutes Tuesday because of illness, Antetokounmpo was back to his gravity-defying tricks Friday night in helping the Milwaukee Bucks score a 116-108 victory over the Miami Heat at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Antetokounmpo finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, including a 6-0 spurt in the fourth quarter that consisted of a dunk, a Euro step for a layup and a step-through finger roll to essentially put the game away.
As important as his late-game performance was in turning away a Heat comeback that closed a 17-point margin through three quarters down to eight early in the fourth, few people are going to remember those exploits for long. Instead, it's Antetokounmpo's first-quarter highlights _ one in particular _ that will make all the highlight reels and draw the most conversation.
Just over four minutes into the first quarter, Tony Snell made a steal and kicked out a pass to Antetokounmpo, who dribbled once before halfcourt, once after, and then took off for the hoop, jumping from just inside the free-throw line. In midair, he extended his arms, pulled them back in to avoid the Heat's Rodney McGruder, then extended them again for a dunk that immediately went viral and left people with variations of the same two responses _ how was that not called a travel and how was that possible?
That dunk was part of a 42-point first quarter, the Bucks' highest-scoring output in any quarter this season. They closed the period by scoring on 10 straight possessions before Antetokounmpo missed a jumper at the buzzer. Center Greg Monroe, who did not play due to a coaching decision the first time these teams met, provided a noticeable spark off the bench, going 5-for-5 from the field for 12 of his 16 points in 5{ minutes of the first quarter.
With a 12-point lead and facing a depleted Heat roster down to 10 players for the final game of their six-game road trip, the Bucks never faced a real threat for the rest of the game. Milwaukee never trailed and led by as many as 22 points.
Jabari Parker carried the scoring load, leading six Bucks in double figures with 24 points. Snell chipped in 14 points, Malcolm Brogdon added 13 with five assists and Michael Beasley made all five of his shots off the bench to finish with 11 points and seven rebounds. Matthew Dellavedova fell just short of giving the Bucks seven in double digits with nine points on 1-of-5 shooting to go with eight assists.
