Central Notes: Giannis, Stewart, Ball, Pacers, Furphy

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo erupted for an NBA-high 59 points in Wednesday’s overtime victory over Detroit, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Antetokounmpo was efficient from all over the court, going 21-of-34 from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point range, and 16-of-17 from the foul line. He also contributed 14 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals, becoming the first player in league history to finish with that stat line.

“His handprint was all over the game,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “When you think about having the scoring off the floor that we had – no Dame (Damian Lillard), no Khris Middleton, no Bobby Portis, no Ryan (Rollins) so we’re down to one living point guard on our team – and for him to do that and for us to score 127 points, though he got half of them almost, every basket was needed.”

Center Brook Lopez, who had also had his best game of the early portion of the season (29 points, eight rebounds, five blocks, three steals), struggled to find words to describe Antetokounmpo’s impact, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

“I’m not well versed enough in the English language, or unfortunately any other language, to find new ways to describe Giannis’ brilliance,” Lopez said. “Just to be able to watch it and be a part of it for as long as I’ve been here, these seven years now, to see the way he was tonight, I’m still seeing new stuff. And it’s just, it’s so special.

“So I’m just going to cherish it, night in and night out, but just let it inspire me too because his drive — you mentioned all the scoring he does — but he doesn’t care about that. Obviously, he can take us on his back and win games for us, but it’s just the way he goes about it. He’s not about the stats. He’s just about winning and that’s something the whole team gets behind.”

Here’s more from the Central:

• Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart was ejected in the third quarter of Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee following a Flagrant 2 foul on Bucks forward Antetokounmpo, notes Owczarski of The Journal Sentinel. Antetokounmpo initiated contact with Stewart to create space, then spun baseline for a dunk attempt when Stewart pulled him down by the jersey with both hands. “I’ve been in that position many times in my life,” Antetokounmpo said of the play. “I have two older brothers that, you know, push me on the floor, play, be tough on me, especially Thanasis. I’ve been so many times hit. So, it doesn’t really faze me anymore. It doesn’t really faze me. All I could think about was get up and try to make two free throws. At the same time, it’s a dangerous play. That’s not a basketball play. I think the ref did a great job of making the right call.”
• Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, who is recuperating from a right wrist sprain, has progressed to doing dribbling and shooting drills in recent days and hopes to return on Sunday vs. Houston, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. However, head coach Billy Donovan suggested that target date might be a little too optimistic. “I don’t know if that’s realistic,” Donovan said. “That’s what he was shooting for. We’re not ruling that out, but a lot of that is going to depend on how he progresses in those areas. When he starts shooting threes, how does that respond? They’re going to make him do some things live in guarding the ball to see how it feels when all of a sudden he’s hand-checking a guy. We haven’t gotten to those places yet, but those are markers he needs to get through, hurdles he needs to get through before he can take the next step in terms of getting on the floor.”
• With James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson sidelined by long-term injuries (torn Achilles tendons) and Aaron Nesmith (left ankle) and Andrew Nembhard (left knee) out multiple weeks, the Pacers have turned to their two-way players and rookies for rotation minutes, as Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes. Two-way players Quenton Jackson and Enrique Freeman (he’s also a rookie, selected No. 50 overall in June’s draft) have received some run off the bench, as has No. 35 overall pick Johnny Furphy, who scored a career-best seven points in nine minutes in Wednesday’s loss to Orlando. “He’s a very good player off movement,” head coach Rick Carlisle said of Furphy, per Dopirak. “He’s a great runner at that size. He’s deceptively tough. He gave us some really good minutes in the first half. … You can see why we’re excited about him for the future and really right now too. That’s a pretty high culture game and he went in there and played well.”