Giannis Antetokounmpo Made the Wrong Kind of History After Scoring 54 Points in a Loss

Giannis ended the night with 54 points, one shy of his career high, but Milwaukee took a loss.

The Bucks didn’t have Damian Lillard available for Thursday’s clash against the Pacers, leaving Giannis Antetokounmpo to shoulder more of the burden offensively. Despite a huge night, Antetokounmpo ended up on the wrong side of NBA history as Milwaukee lost, 126-124. 

Antetokounmpo was on fire out of the gate, racking up 40 points midway through the third quarter after having logged just 22 minutes on the floor. At that point in the game, he was responsible for more than half of Milwaukee’s 79 points. 

By the end of the night, Antetokounmpo finished just one-point shy of his career high of 55 points. The Greek Freak dropped 54 points while shooting an astonishingly efficient 19-of-25 from the field. His effort was in vain, however, as the Pacers pulled away with a 126-124 victory.

In fact, Antetokounmpo became the first player in NBA history to be on the losing end of a game in which a player recorded 50+ points, 10+ rebounds, and shot 75% or better from the field, according to ESPN Stats and Info. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo is the first player in NBA history to lose a game with 50 points, 75% field percentage and 10 rebounds in a game. pic.twitter.com/92AE5oCkkB

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 10, 2023

Antetokounmpo was effectively a one-man show on the offensive end on Thursday. Khris Middleton scored 19 points in the game, but otherwise, the only Bucks players to eclipse double digits in points were Bobby Portis (11) and Malik Beasley (13). 

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Despite his high scoring night, Antetokounmpo struggled to take care of the ball, logging eight turnovers in the loss, including a costly one late in the fourth quarter.

Antetokounmpo put on a strong showing in his first game back following his ejection the previous night against the Pistons, though he wasn’t able to lead his team to a win on Thursday.