Bucks' Antetokounmpo posting rare numbers in postseason
Even in defeat, Giannis Antetokounmpo is doing things rarely seen on a basketball court during playoff time.
In Game 2 in Boston, Antetokounmpo shot 76.5 percent from the field, scoring 30 points while also adding nine rebounds and eight assists.
He became just the fifth player since the 1998 playoffs to have 30+ points, 5+ rebounds, 5+ assists and have a 75.0 percent or better field-goal percentage in a postseason game.
| PLAYER | DATE | PTS | REB | AST | FG% |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 4/30/1998 | 31 | 15 | 5 | 76.5 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5/10/1998 | 39 | 8 | 7 | 75.0 |
| Kevin Durant | 4/29/2013 | 38 | 8 | 6 | 75.0 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 5/3/2017 | 34 | 7 | 8 | 81.3 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 4/17/2018 | 30 | 9 | 8 | 76.5 |
If you add up Giannis' first two playoff games against the Celtics … yup, another rarity.
Since the 1985 playoffs, just four players have totaled at least 60 points, 20 rebounds and 15 assists after two games. You-know-who became the fourth. You might have heard of the other three.
| PLAYER | YEAR | PTS | REB | AST |
| Michael Jordan | 1992 | 79 | 24 | 15 |
| Russell Westbrook | 2017 | 73 | 21 | 20 |
| LeBron James | 2018 | 70 | 22 | 17 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 2018 | 65 | 22 | 15 |
In addition, Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton are the fifth pair of teammates to both score 25+ points in each of their team's first two playoff games since 1985. The others: Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in 2012, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in 2003, San Antonio's Willie Anderson and David Robinson in 1990 and Boston's Larry Bird and Kevin McHale in 1986.
Want more? Well, if Antetokounmpo can pull off another game of 30+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists in Game 3, he'll be just the third player to open a postseason with three such consecutive games. The other two were Michael Jordan, who did it three times, and Tracy McGrady. No one has done it in four straight to open a playoff series.
Statistics courtesy STATS