MILWAUKEE — — Brooklyn head coach Steve Nash wasn’t around to watch Giannis Antetokounmpo finish splitting the Nets.
Nash was fired First time in his coaching career after Antetokounmpo argued that he should have committed an offensive foul on Patty Mills in the third quarter to bring the ball onto the field.
Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks dominated the rest of the way with a 110-99 win Wednesday night.
“I was just defending our guys,” said Nash, who was ejected twice during his 18-season career. “I thought Patty took a forearm down Giannis’ throat right in front of the referee. I didn’t feel it was fair. I don’t think I’m being too pretentious. I was sorry to have technical knowledge.”
Antetokounmpo had 43 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. He scored 34 points in the second half.
The performance marks the fifth time in NBA history that a player has scored at least 44 points while playing in less than 28 minutes, three nights after he scored 44 points and shot 21/17 in a 125-105 win over the Houston Rockets.
“I’ve worked hard over these few years and this summer, and I’m very anxious to prove to myself that I can do what I’m working on, and sometimes I think I’m not playing as much as I can. Antetokounmpo said. “I scratched it up a bit and in the second half I said, ‘Okay, I’ll be myself and I’ll be fine with that,’ and I tried to drive as much as I could, find my teammates and get in. Paint.”
The Nets took a 70-66 lead with about 4½ minutes into the third quarter as Nash threw a technical foul and then shouted his displeasure as assistant coach Jacque Vaughn and forward Royce O’Neale held him back. Nash’s heated reaction resulted in a second technique that knocked him out.
Milwaukee dominated the Nets 44-29 for the remainder of the game.
Antetokounmpo went 13 of the remaining 15 after shooting just 3 shots in the 10 in the first half. The Bucks outscored the Nets 67-44 in the last two periods, and scored 34 points in the second half.
“This is old Giannis,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “This is probably the best – he’s had a lot of great performances – he did it all in the second half tonight. He was phenomenal.”
Bobby Portis added 20 points and 11 rebounds for Milwaukee, while Jrue Holiday added 15.
Kevin Durant scored 33 points, Kyrie Irving 27 and Royce O’Neale 12 points for the Nets.
Irving scored 11 consecutive points from Brooklyn and saved a tie-breaking jumper with 10:09 left in 83, but Milwaukee made a 10-point lead while the Nets failed to score for the next 5½ minutes.
Durant finally ended Brooklyn’s drought with a layup with 4:37 remaining, the first time since Day’Ron Sharpe’s free throw with the third period left to score any Net goals other than Irving with 3:02 left.
TIPS
Nets: Brooklyn played a second game in a row without Markieff Morris for personal reasons. Seth Curry (left ankle) and TJ Warren (left foot) still haven’t made their first steps into the season. Before the game, Nash said Curry will train with the team’s NBA G League member on Thursday. … Before the game, Nash said he wanted to see Ben Simmons, who returned to the three-time All-Star after missing the entire 2021-22 season and undergoing back surgery, recapture the “joy of playing.” Simmons had four points, five rebounds and nine assists on Wednesday. He didn’t score more than seven points in Brooklyn’s first four games.
Bucks: The Bucks continue to play without Khris Middleton (wrist), Pat Connaughton (calf) and Joe Ingles (knee). … A moment of silence was held before the match Keith Carrington Carrington, chief auditor of Fiserv Forum event security since 2018, died in the off-season.
NEXT
Nets: Host the Mavericks in the first of four straight home games on Thursday.
Bucks: Host the New York Knicks in game three of the six-game season-record game on Friday.
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