Giannis Antetokounmpo walked away from last night's game against the Boston Celtics with a smirk on his face, because he and his teammates prevailed, and because stat-chasing is foolish pride. But conversely, had he walked away crestfallen, I'd understand his position. Gettingyammed on by a smaller opponent is pretty emasculating, no matter the circumstances, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is indubitably a prideful person.
It all went down in the 4th quarter with the game well out of Boston's grasps, the score 97-80 for Milwaukee. Terry Rozier has the ball on the perimeter with one of his sneakers dislodged, the defense doubling on him, so he passes off to his "free man" to his right, Jaylen Brown. With the rock in his hands, Jaylen Brown switches to his off-hand, driving to the left with a seamless "Euro-Step" maneuver, before going into flight a few feet from the basket, with Giannis Antetokounmpo right under his nose. The result speaks for itself, Jaylen Brown got his poster dunk over Giannis, then he stared him down while flexing his biceps in an equally boastful manner.
So, in the end, both men walked away happy. Jaylen Brown had his mojo moment on the big stage, finishing with 21 points in 30 minutes of action - and took the W, giving his team the allure of a Championship-caliber team, in a reversal of fortune. Before the NBA season commenced, it was the Boston Celtics receiving all the anticipatory hype out of the Eastern Conference. Giannis sure changed the order of succession in hurry in 2018-2019!
