NBA Top Five Performances, March 13: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Monster Double-Double Led Milwaukee Bucks Over Sacramento Kings

Giannis leads the Bucks past the Sacramento Kings

TOP PLAYERS OF THE DAY:

Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a few games for the Milwaukee Bucks due to injury. He returned against the Sacramento Kings with a 46-point, 12-rebound performance to get the win. Antetokounmpo went 19 of 28 from the field, hitting both his 3-pointers and nearly all his free throws. It was his 12th 40-point game of the season, tying Luka Doncic for the second-most in the league.

“Obviously he had a great bounce tonight,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He was aggressive, he attacked, and we need to just keep working on our spacing to give him great lanes and driving opportunities. When he has a few days off to take care of his body, we reaped the benefits of that tonight.”

With the Boston Celtics losing to the Houston Rockets, the Bucks went 2.5 games ahead for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

OTHERS:

- Desmond Bane flirted with a triple double in the Memphis Grizzlies’ win against the Dallas Mavericks. Bane had 23 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in the Grizzlies’ third straight victory without Ja Morant.

- The Rockets’ upset win against the Celtics came behind Jalen Green’s 28-point performance. Green countered Jaylen Brown, who ended with 43 points.

- Klay Thompson had 38 points, including eight 3-pointers, to help the Golden State Warriors defeat the Phoenix Suns.

- Anthony Edwards’ 32-point performance led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a blowout win against the Atlanta Hawks.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.