Giannis Antetokounmpo: The Greek star reflects on the Milwaukee Bucks’ elimination in the NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics | NBA News

Giannis Antetokounmpo admitted it “hurts” after his team, the Milwaukee Bucks, weakened in the fourth quarter of a dramatic NBA Playoffs loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

A year after leading Milwaukee to the NBA title and being voted Most Valuable Player, ‘The Greek Freak’ and the Bucks’ hopes of back-to-back titles ended when the Celtics won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals 109-81.

Antetokounmpo had 25 points with 20 rebounds and nine assists overall, but shot 10-for-26 in the game, missing six of seven shots in the fourth quarter, four of them from within 6 feet.

“I’d rather miss a bunch of shots and keep playing and keep coming and keep being aggressive than go passive,” the Bucks star said.

Asked if his legs were heavy after playing a season-high 43 minutes, 9 seconds, including the entire second half until the game was out of his reach, Antetokounmpo said: “Heavy legs. Heavy body. Mind. Heavy Everything was heavy.

“I was just trying to be aggressive,” he added. “At the end of the day, it’s Game 7 and I’m not going to hold the ball and not look at the rim.”

Antetokounmpo still had a series for the record books, posting a triple-double in Game 1 and missing one in the finals by a single assist. He scored 40 or more points three times and had 20 rebounds twice.

Over the seven games, he averaged 29.6 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 7.1 assists and is the first player in NBA history to record 200 points, 100 rebounds, and 50 assists in a playoff series.

He said: “We realized, like, hey, we’ve got to get better. We’ve got to get better as a team. We’ve got to want it more. Do we have to work on that game? So hopefully, like this moment, instead of thinking we lost something, we can win and learn to put ourselves in a position to win another championship, now it will be next year, it will be two years from now.

“It hurts. It hurts a little bit not to win. But at the end of the day, the way my mom raised me, my dad raised me, I’m a good human being.”

“I have to wish (Jayson) Tatum and his team the best going forward. I think they played very well, they were able to win the series and I wish him the best of luck as he continues to play very well and lead his team.” hopefully a championship.

“I think they are a great team, they have great chemistry and they have a chance to win one.”

“The way that Giannis evolved throughout this series, the way that Giannis played against a very good defensive team, against a lot of good individual defenders, it was like another one of those growth moments, growth opportunities,” the coach said. of the Bucks, Mike Budenholzer.

“I thought he was phenomenal. His scoring, his attack, his game, his generosity. I was beyond impressed.”