Giannis Antetokounmpo pulled out all his power for this one, bullying the New Orleans Pelicans for 42 points as the Milwaukee Bucks opened their road trip with a 128-119 win.
A wildly prolific first quarter for Jonas Valanciunas propelled the Pelicans offensively, pouring in 15 of his own, but the Bucks answered with a balanced attack and led 30-27. Joe Ingles made his Bucks debut with just under a minute left in the quarter. Giannis saw what Choo-Choo was doing and felt he had to raise his game, culminating in 26 first half points for him (to 28 for Jonas) while Milwaukee led 66-61.