"Legs heavy, body heavy, mind heavy, everything was heavy!" - Reigning NBA champion and 6-time All-Star's deflated response as the Milwaukee Bucks suffer a blowout defeat to Celtics and crash out of playoffs
At the end of it all, Giannis Antetokounmpo had nothing left in the tank. The "Greek Freak" put up 25 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists and two steals in Game 7 of the Milwaukee Bucks' Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Boston Celtics. But Antetokounmpo's Herculean effort, a result of his 43-plus minutes on the floor at TD Garden, couldn't save the Bucks' postseason aspirations as the team crashed to a 81-109 defeat against the Celtics on Sunday.
Giannis just shy of the triple-double today.
25 PTS | 20 REB | 9 AST | 2 STL https://t.co/9tcrRIQX8r
With Khris Middleton (left MCL Sprain) missing the entire length of the series against Boston, Giannis Antetokounmpo gave it his all to keep the Milwaukee Bucks in the contest. Antetokounmpo finished the seven-game series averaging 33.9 ppg, 14.7 rpg and 7.1 apg while averaging 40.0 minutes per contest in the conference semifinals. The six-time All-Star put up a triple-double (24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists) in Game 1 to begin the series and had three 40-point, 10 rebound games thereafter for the Milwaukee Bucks.
After expending so much effort and energy, albeit in a losing cause, it was only natural that the reigning Finals MVP would be exhausted. That, coupled with the Bucks suffering a premature exit from the 2022 postseason, left Antetokounmpo deflated. He told the media following the Game 7 loss to Boston:
"Legs heavy. Body heavy. Mind heavy. Everything was heavy."
Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo after season-ending Game 7 loss to Celtics: "Legs heavy. Body heavy. Mind heavy. Everything was heavy."
"Giannis is the best player in the world," says Jaylen Brown about going up against Milwaukee Bucks superstar
Despite their victory, the Boston Celtics showed great class by lauding Giannis Antetokounmpo's play in the series. When asked what it was to go up against a player like Antetokounmpo, the Celtics head coach had only one word to offer. He said:
"Hard."
Ime Udoka on what it's like to go against Giannis: "Hard."
Appreciation for Antetokunmpo's play in the series came from other quarters, too. Celtics forward Jaylen Brown told the media quite candidly:
"Giannis is the best player in the world. You can see why a lot of people say that."
Jaylen Brown on going against Giannis Antetokounmpo: "Giannis is the best player in the world. You can see why a lot of people say that."
This was Giannis' third showdown versus the Celtics over the course of his seven playoff appearances for the Milwaukee Bucks. With this latest series loss, Giannis now holds a 1-2 record against Boston, having lost to them in seven games in 2018 and then having beaten them in five games in 2019. With both teams having a fairly settled core, it can safely be presumed that there will be many more battles between Giannis and the Celtics in the next few years. For now, though, this battle went Boston's way.