"About to get freaky at night, you think about it": Giannis Antetokounmpo lists down times he thinks about Pacers' 4 wins vs Bucks
The Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 142-130 on January 3, a defeat which Giannis Antetokounmpo believes can serve as a valuable lesson for the team.
Antetokounmpo finds it unacceptable to lose to the same team four times in a season (out of five meets).
Following the loss he was asked how it felt to lose to the same team multiple times, to which he replied:
"You think about it. When you go home and sleep and wake up, you think about it. When you go back and work out, you think about it.... When you're about to get freaky at night, you think about it."
The Bucks' defence struggled against the Pacers, and Giannis acknowledged the need for more urgency in their play.
The Pacers have the best offence in the league while the Bucks are struggling with their defensive identity under new coach Adrian Griffin. They're below average this season and are currently the 20th rated defence.
How has Giannis Antetokounmpo performed against the Pacers this season?
In the 2023-24 season, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been impressive against the Indiana Pacers. On December 14, he scored 64 points. This set a franchise record for the Milwaukee Bucks and also his personal career-high, which additionally helped his team beat the Pacers 140-126 (their solitary win against the Pacers this season).
He made 20 out of his 28 shots and went to the free throw line a whopping 32 times; he also grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds.
In another game on November 9, Giannis dropped 54 points and 12 rebounds, but the Pacers won the game 124-126.
December 7 saw the Bucks unable to score 120 points, keeping them below their offensive net rating. Giannis scored a team-high 37 points and 10 rebounds, playing a gruelling 40 minutes, five more than his usual, but to no avail. This game was part of the NBA's new In-season tournament that featured the two teams in the semi-finals.
The New Year's first game featured the two again, where Giannis had a team-high in all stats - 30 points, 11 assists and 18 rebounds, securing a triple-double. Even then, the Bucks failed to match their averages in net offence by scoring just 113, falling to Indiana's potent offence - 122 points, two more than their net rating.