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Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo joins 20,000-point club
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) takes a shot against Dallas Mavericks center Dwight Powell (7) in the first quarter at Fiserv Forum. Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo joins 20,000-point club in blowout win

The Greek Freak dominated in the Milwaukee Bucks' blowout win Wednesday night. On the way, he became the sixth-youngest player to hit a huge milestone.

Not only did Giannis Antetokounmpo score 32 points and collect 15 rebounds in just 25 minutes, the fewest minutes played in a 30-15 game since 1967, he scored his 20,000th career point early in the third quarter. Only five players have reached that milestone at an earlier age than the 30-year-old "Greek Freak" and they're five of the great players in NBA history: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.

The Bucks stopped the game for a scoreboard tribute to their franchise's leading scorer, a pause that the Dallas Mavericks may have welcomed, since they were trailing by 23 points. The video featured a clip of a very young Antetokounmpo declaring that one day, he would be an NBA player.

Antetokounmpo is having a monster season for Milwaukee, averaging 30.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists, while shooting over 60 percent from the field. After a miserable 2-8 start, the Bucks have won two-thirds of their games since then. Wednesday's 137-107 win kept them slightly ahead of the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in the race for the four seed and home-court advantage in the first round. 

After all, while 20,000 points is impressive, Antetokounmpo needs almost 28,000 more to catch LeBron James' 50,000 regular-season and playoff points. Home-court advantage could help him get a few hundred points closer.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

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