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Jamal CollierESPN
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks are the NBA’s last remaining unbeaten team, improving to 4-0 with a 119-108 victory against the New York Knicks on Friday night.
It’s the fourth time in franchise history the Bucks have started a season at least 4-0, and it’s their best start since 2018-19, when they rattled off seven straight victories en route to 60 wins and the league’s best record.
“We have a very good team, but we got to stay humble as much as we can,” Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said after Friday’s game. “I remember the year, 2018-19, we had the 7-0 start to the season, but we didn’t win the championship. [The 4-0 start] doesn’t really matter.”
Antetokounmpo nearly put up a triple-double against New York on Friday night, finishing with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 9 assists to help carry Milwaukee to another victory despite starting the season without two key rotation players in forward Khris Middleton (wrist) and guard Pat Connaughton (calf).
“We’re playing good. We’re building good habits,” Antetokounmpo said. “We’re defending well. We have big-time players that they’re getting ready to join the [team]. But at the end of the day, that doesn’t mean they’re going to come in and we’re going to play better, they’re going to come in and we’re going to defend better or we’re going to win easier.
“We can’t wait to have them back healthy, and hopefully when they get back we can keep what we have going, keep on winning games and keep on playing good basketball and enjoying the game as we do.”
Antetokounmpo has been off to a dominant start in his 10th season in the league.
He is averaging 34.5 points, 13.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists with 1.8 blocks and 0.8 steals per game on 63% shooting. Through four games, he has collected 138 points, 53 rebounds and 25 assists, making him the first player with 125 points, 50 rebounds and 25 assists through four games since Larry Bird in 1987-88, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information research.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer pointed to the consistency of Antetokounmpo and the presence of a healthy Brook Lopez at center as the reason Milwaukee has gotten off to such a fast start. After dropping to 14th in defensive efficiency last season while Lopez missed nearly the entire regular season with a back injury, the Bucks’ defense has returned to the top of the league to start the season, leading the NBA by surrendering just 99.8 points per 100 possessions.
“Giannis has obviously been very, very good out of the gate. Brook has been very good out of the gate. I think those two have been our consistent every night,” Budenholzer said. “Jrue’s had his moments, Grayson, I think we’ve had a really good George Hill for these first four games and other guys. It might be a different guy each night. But I think Giannis and Brook have really set the tone for us coming out of the gate, every possession, every night. We’re going to need that going forward.”
The Bucks next host the Hawks (4-1) on Saturday.
Source: www.espn.com