In the absence of Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered a colossal performance to overcome the Pacers this Thursday. Efforts that made him go down in history but were made in vain by his adversaries, whom he commented on with detachment afterwards.

Entering the legend of the league is usually enough to put a smile on your face. However, it was with a sullen face that Giannis Antetokounmpo left Gainbridge Fieldhouse this Thursday. Author of 54 points (19/25 shooting) and 12 rebounds, the leader of the Bucks thus signed a sad first all-time in his team’s narrow defeat against Indiana (124-126). All while equaling Michael Jordan at the same time:

Most career 50-point, 10-rebound games since ABA/NBA Merger in 1976 (Regular Season & Playoffs)

Giannis Antetokounmpo 8
Michael Jordan 8
James Harden 7
Joel Embiid 5#FeartheDeer

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 10, 2023

Most career games with 50 points and 10 rebounds for a player since the merger of the ABA and NBA in 1976 (regular season & playoffs combined):

Giannis Antetokounmpo – 8
Michael Jordan – 8
James Harden – 7
Joel Embiid – 5

Giannis puts things into perspective after his monstrous and insufficient performance

After finding himself at the heart of a vast controversy following his exclusion the day before – to which LeBron James reacted, Giannis decided to take revenge on the Pacers. What he did in a titanic manner, without leaving Indianapolis with victory. But instead of railing against this infuriating result or the lack of help he may have deplored, the Greek Freak preferred to draw positives from this evening:

54. 45. 5. It doesn’t matter. A lot of good things we can learn from today to get better 💪🏾💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/OQ6RuZoWpr

— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) November 10, 2023

54, 45 or 5 points, it doesn’t matter. There are a lot of good things we can take from this match to improve ourselves 💪🏾💪🏾

Aware that the season still remains long, Antetokounmpo refuses to let himself be affected by a simple setback, which is moreover suffered in the absence of his new shock sidekick, Damian Lillard. A very mature attitude which reminds us that his main objective remains the conquest of a new title next June.

Heroic on the Pacers floor, Giannis Antetokounmpo seems not to worry about his individual statistics. He thus prefers to take a step back and retain the positive points of this defeat, which could nevertheless have left him with a bitter taste.