Giannis Antetokounmpo was phenomenal on Monday night, but his efforts were not enough to stop the Luka Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks from snapping the Milwaukee Bucks' 18-game winning streak, 120-116, at the Fiserv Forum.
The Greek Freak scored 48 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while shooting 18-of-31 from the field (54 percent) and 3-for-5 from three-point territory. He also tallied four assists, one steal and one block in 34 minutes.
Giannis now holds the distinction as the player with the most points ever in a loss, which ended a team's (single season) winning streak of 15-plus games. He beat the record of Steve Nash, who had 42 points in a loss with the Phoenix Suns in 2006-07.
The Milwaukee Bucks had their 18-game winning streak snapped by the @dallasmavs tonight.
In the loss, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 48 points, the most ever in a loss ending a player's team's (single season) winning streak of 15+ games. Steve Nash had 42 in such a loss in 2006-07. pic.twitter.com/CLBICH3krz
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 17, 2019
Even without Doncic, Dallas' other European star Kristaps Porzingis stepped up and was a thorn to the side of the Bucks, registering a double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes. Seth Curry was also a pleasant surprise, dishing in 26 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Giannis had some support from Kyle Korver (17 points), Ersan Ilyasova (11), and George Hill (10), but they were unable to stop the young Dallas team from ending their streak at home.
After winning his first Most Valuable Player plum last season, Antetokounmpo has once again emerged as the frontrunner for the award this year with astonishing averages of 31.7 points, 12.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks. He also help establish the Bucks as the biggest threat in the East this season, vowing to atone from last year's Eastern Conference semifinals exit at the hands of eventual champions Toronto Raptors.
Despite the loss, the Bucks are still the best team in the Eastern Conference with a 24-4 slate and are way ahead of the second seed Philadelphia 76ers.