LeBron James will face Giannis Antetokounmpo four times this season. Here’s how they faired in game one on Friday night.
Round one of the most highly anticipated matchup in the Eastern Conference this side of Boston Harbor took place Friday night. The crowned man, LeBron James, over looker of the NBA kingdom faced an upstart prince on a quest to steal his thrown.
With the Cleveland Cavaliers in town, Giannis Antetokounmpo, also known as ‘The Greek Freak’ welcomed ‘King James’ and company into his village of feared deer and wingspans the length of albatrosses. It was the first time James and Antetokounmpo faced off since February 27 of last season. Bizarrely, the Cavs only played their division rival once following the NBA All-Star Game. Antetokounmpo really blossomed during the season’s later half.
So, this was truly the first time James played the young buck in full bloom. Media outlets framed the highly anticipated matchup as the NBA’s present verse its future. Some even question whether or not ‘The Greek Freak’ is already the game’s best player.
The game carried significant intrigue, especially for an October matchup. Two of the game’s most dominant and physically intriguing forces sharing the floor, and fans are interested to see if the young prince was finally stronger than the king.
Antetokounmpo posted the better stat line. In 39 minutes, he delivered 34 points on 15-22 shooting. Giannis added 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Apart from flirting with a triple double, Antetokounmpo stole the ball 3 times and recorded a block.
James’s line was less impressive. He dropped 24 points in 37 minutes on 10-16 shooting. In typical LeBron fashion, he led the Cavs with 8 assists while gobbling 5 rebounds. But LeBron’s Cavs outscored the Bucks by 13 points while he was in the game. Antetokounmpo had a -17 plus/minus.
And in one of the game’s biggest moments, James bested his counterpart. Midway through the fourth quarter, Antetokounmpo swiftly dribbled the ball up the floor. With a head of steam, at attacked the rim, flanked by LeBron. James waited patiently for the shot, timed his leap and swatted the layup off the back board.
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The bucket would have cut the Cavs’ lead to ten points. The Bucks never really made it close following the play.
Props to ‘The Greek Freak’ for attacking the hoop with reckless abandon. He could have pulled up for a jumper, or circled around and set up the offense. Instead, he challenged LeBron. And James showed why still reigns supreme.
You can see in the game’s highlight reel that during the first three quarters, Antetokounmpo got the best of James, regularly attacking the hoop and beating LeBron in transition.
But LeBron kept pace, taking advantage of Khris Middleton and bullying Malcolm Brogdon when the guard switched off on him.
And in the fourth quarter, James came alive knocking down a pair of crucial threes while Antetokounmpo watched helplessly from the paint.
The Cavs finished with the comfortable victory, 116-97. Despite the stellar, early performance from Antetokounmpo, LeBron reminded the prince why kings save their best play for the fourth quarter.
Next: 30 reasons to be excited for the 2017-18 NBA season
Round one between the NBA’s present and the league’s very near future went to the veteran, maybe by split decision, but only added anticipation to rounds two, three and four. Hopefully, we’ll see many more in the playoffs.