Giannis wins the battle of superstars against Williamson after Bucks beat Pelicans

Amidst all the hysteria surrounding the trade deadline, with Andre Iguodala’s on-going social-scuffle with his teammates at Memphis gaining all sorts of attention inside the NBA fraternity, came a period when the real thing attracted the NBA’s consideration.

Giannis goes for 30+ PTS and 10+ REB for an NBA-leading 24th time this season as the @Bucks improve to 43-7. #SAPStatLineOfTheNight pic.twitter.com/3A7PB3z0uX

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) February 5, 2020

After all, it was the first time that the reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo came face to face against the 2019 first-round draft pick Zion Williamson when the Milwaukee Bucks played the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Centre on Wednesday morning.

This big and the most anticipated clash between superstar Giannis, and Williamson, who is the next real big thing in the NBA, and certainly can claim the superstar tag for himself, didn’t disappoint, not at either player’s personal level, as the world witnessed the freakish athleticism and unique processes of these two individuals. The duo produced almost everything on the court, alley-oop shots, dunks, and the jumpers, and other things an NBA fan can think of. We can mention as well.

That said, Williamson must have taken few notes from Giannis’s performance, as the Greek-Freak took over the game after a quiet first quarter and led the Bucks to a 120-108 win at Smoothie King Centre.

The 2018-19 NBA MVP finished the match with a game-high 34 points on 12-of-17 shooting and wrestled his way for 17 rebounds and six assists to clock yet another double-double. More importantly, Giannis seemed to have taken the battle against Willaimson quite seriously as he himself marked the Pelicans superstar and didn’t let him have anything easy on the night.

“It’s not about just Zion or a rookie, it’s anybody,” Giannis said after the game after he was asked if he was driven to win the battle against Williamson. “I want to be one of those players who can be effective offensively and help his team, get open shots for his teammates and be dominant offensively. “And defensively, also, you can’t score on me. I think I can do a better job.”

Still, Williamson produced decent numbers despite struggling to cope with Giannis in the first half where he managed just 1 of 5 from the field. The Pelicans phenom ended with 20 points, 5 assists, and 7 rebounds. Brandon Ingram dropped a team-high 32 points for the Pelicans, while Lonzo Ball ended with a double-double 11 points and 14 rebounds.

With that win, the Bucks improved to 43-7 on the season, while the Pelicans are now 20-31 this season and sit five-and-a-half games behind the Western Conference playoff spots.