Giannis Antetokounmpo makes the steal and takes it all the way for the win

Giannis Antetokounmpo continued the scorching start to his season as he dropped 44 points on the Portland Trailblazers. With his third 30 or more point outing in as many games, he has officially put the rest of the NBA on notice.

Although he absolutely lit up the Blazers as a one man wrecking crew on offense, his real impact was felt on the other end of the court. With time winding down, he picked C.J. McCollum’s pocket and finished at the rim to give Milwaukee the lead 111-110. On the following play with the game still on the line, Giannis came up big once again and stuffed Portland’s Jusuf Nurkic at the rim to seal the deal for the Bucks.

Following an intentional foul by Portland, two made free throws by teammate Khris Middleton and a stolen inbound pass at the hands of Malcolm Brogdon, the Bucks closed the suspenseful contest and picked up the W 113-110.

Without secondary scoring option Jabari Parker in the lineup to provide some firepower on offense, Antetokounmpo’s number will need to be called nearly every play if Milwaukee hopes to stay afloat in his absence. Luckily for the Greek Freak, the Bucks have surrounded the skilled point forward with functional perimeter shooters who can reliably knock down the open threes he creates.

While disappointing for the Blazers, their Allstar caliber combination of backcourt scorers Damian Lillard and McCollum have looked elite while sharing the court. Portland will now head home 2-1 with an opportunity to bounce back against the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night in a Western Conference showdown.

All championship hopefuls need superstars if they have a chance to compete, but no team can win a title without key contributions from their role players. The Trailblazers shouldn’t be on anyone’s radar to capture the Larry O’Brien Trophy, but with undervalued talent and deceptive depth, they could easily sneak into the NBA playoffs and become an instant nightmare for their first round matchup.