Bulls 114, Bucks 101: Giannis Antetokounmpo makes emphatic return in loss

Matt Velazquez
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) passes around the Bulls' Robin Lopez on Friday night.

CHICAGO - Basketball is part of the connective tissue between Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of his family. It's the sport they all love, the sport that has afforded all of them incalculable opportunities.

Over the past week, basketball has been both an escape and an afterthought following the unexpected death of Giannis' father, Charles, last Friday night. The Bucks gave their star the space he needed over the past week, excusing Antetokounmpo from team activities for as long as he felt was necessary.

That didn't mean he stayed away. Needing time with his family, he brought them to the place he feels most comfortable to find solace in the sport they all love.

“We all went to the court (at the Bucks' practice facility) on the day my dad passed away; we all went to the court to shoot hoops," Antetokounmpo said Friday at the United Center after the Bucks' 114-101 loss to the Chicago Bulls in his preseason debut. "Basketball is a really big part of our family and that’s one of the things that made my dad proud.”

Antetokounmpo returned to team activities Wednesday, taking part in shootaround. According to head coach Jason Kidd, his return wasn't formally announced or scheduled, rather, Antetokounmpo simply showed up when he felt it was time.

"When you talk about his sanctuary it's the practice gym, the arena, the basketball court," Kidd said. "That's where his comfort level is and that's just who he is. ...

"The things that have taken place don't go away, you've still got to go through it after that, but it at least gives you two hours to think about something else."

BOX SCORE:Bulls 114, Bucks 101

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Later Wednesday, Antetokounmpo sat on the bench and watched the team's preseason loss to the Indiana Pacers at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Following a full practice Thursday and shootaround Friday, Antetokounmpo was ready to get back into game action. With less than two weeks until the season opener, he felt it was necessary to get back into rhythm with his teammates.

It felt right.

"Walking out there today I had a feeling in the pregame warmup," Antetokounmpo said. "Just seeing everybody getting ready for the game, seeing the fans out there cheering and stuff it gives you a feeling, a really good feeling.”

Antetokounmpo turned that excitement into a performance in which he appeared to be in midseason form as he scored 24 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished two assists in nearly 23 minutes.

The Greek Freak didn't waste any time getting into the flow, turning his first touch into a drive for a layup through a foul by Bulls center Robin Lopez. Later in the first quarter with the Bucks in a seven-point hole, Antetokounmpo came off the bench and turned things around virtually on his own. He stroked a fadeaway, baseline jumper, deposited a layup and knocked down three free throws to tie the score. Then, with time running down in the quarter, he coolly beat the buzzer with a pull-up three that caught nothing but net.

Buoyed by that solo 10-0 run, Antetokounmpo finished the first with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He also turned heads with an emphatic block, sliding across the paint to erase a layup attempt by Justin Holiday.

Antetokounmpo didn't play as large of a role in the second quarter as he sat for most of the period. His one shot attempt was a memorable one, though, as he double-clutched for a dunk in traffic.

Midway through the third quarter, it looked like Antetokounmpo's night would be done after subbing out having logged 18 1/2 minutes. Kidd had planned to keep Antetokounmpo under 20 minutes, but the 22-year-old star lobbied his head coach for more time. A few minutes after the request, Kidd decided to acquiesce, allowing Antetokounmpo to play the final 3:54 of the quarter.

"He wants to play the whole game," Kidd said with a smile.

Antetokounmpo's return meant the Bulls had to respect his ability to get to the basket, a skill he exercised often on the way to going 9 of 13 from the free-throw line. The extra defensive help needed to try to contain Antetokounmpo also spaced the floor for Milwaukee's shooters, with Antetokounmpo's two assists coming when he was essentially triple-teamed and passed out to an open shooter for a three-pointer.

As good as he was — and he was clearly the best player on the court — Antetokounmpo felt rusty.

"I was a little bit lost out there defensively, but day by day I’m going to get better," he said. "(I’m going to) go back to the practice facility and try to get extra reps.”

Outside of Antetokounmpo's noteworthy debut, the main takeaway from the Bucks' effort was their issues on the defensive end. The Bulls found consistent open looks, especially from long range, and made the Bucks pay. Chicago lived behind the three-point line, going 17 of 34 from long range, with Holiday scoring 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting from distance and Denzel Valentine adding 15 points all on three-pointers (5 of 6).

“I think one of the things we in the past have had trouble with is playing teams that might not have an all-star," Kidd said. "We can’t play to the level of our competition in the sense that we’re waiting and thinking we’re just going to turn it on. Tonight they got a lot of great open threes and we just didn’t come out and respect them.”

Khris Middleton chipped in 14 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Bucks, while Greg Monroe added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench. Rookie Sterling Brown recorded his first points of the preseason on an emphatic fourth-quarter dunk and finished with eight points.

For Antetokounmpo, it was a return to his usual routine after a week that's been anything but normal. As difficult as things have been, he's appreciated the support of the franchise as well as fans around the globe.

“I just want to thank everybody — the fans, the franchise," Antetokounmpo said. "They did everything that was possible to make me feel comfortable, to make my family feel comfortable, but it’s tough times I’m going through.”

And as for his father, a former soccer player who helped him and his brothers learn basketball and fall in love with the game, Antetokounmpo continues to feel his presence.

“He’s always with me out there," he said.