Kevin Durant dominated the Milwaukee Bucks for 49 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in a 114-108 win in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series on Tuesday night. Late in the game as he kept racking up big buckets, some wondered a reasonable question: why wasn’t Giannis Antetokounmpo guarding KD?
Antetokounmpo was the Defensive Player of the Year last season and is a four-time All-Defensive team player. Shouldn’t he be defending the opposing team’s best player in key moments like at the end of the game?
Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum pointed that out on Twitter. “Easy$” is a reference to Durant, whose Instagram handle is “EasyMoneySniper.”
Bruh first team all defense and ain’t go check easy$
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) June 16, 2021
It took Durant going for 49 for the Nets to win. And it took the Bucks being unable to convert offensively for Milwaukee to lose. So Giannis not being on Durant wasn’t the reason the Bucks lost. But, yes, that’s probably a challenge Antetokounmpo should be accepting at times. He sounds like he will want it in Game 6:
Giannis Antetokounmpo says, “I want to take the challenge” to guard Kevin Durant and hopes Coach Budenholzer will give him the chance in Game 6.
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) June 16, 2021
That’s nice, but does any of it even matter if Durant is doing this?
