Matt Velazquez

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

It didn't take long for the Milwaukee Bucks to make it clear the outcome of their Sunday matinee against the Sacramento Kings was no longer in doubt. After a sluggish start, Milwaukee used an 18-1 first-quarter run to set the tone for what would be a 144-109 evisceration at Fiserv Forum.

While there wasn't much drama on the scoreboard -- the Bucks continuously led by double digits from the start of the second quarter -- Giannis Antetokounmpo and his teammates made sure the sellout crowd had plenty to keep them entertained.

Milwaukee set franchise records with 22 made three-pointers on 56 attempts. There were numerous strong dunks, including ones from Antetokounmpo, Pat Connaughton and Sterling Brown. Add in some blocks and acrobatic finishes, and the Bucks had a busy, impressive afternoon.

The clear highlight, though, came from Antetokounmpo, who added to his collection of emphatic dunks with an otherworldly jam in the third quarter. On a drive against countryman Kosta Koufos, Antetokounmpo achieved full extension with his right arm, windmilling the ball through the hoop with authority while also getting a foul call.

“Whatever big tried to guard me – Koufos, (Willie Cauley-Stein) or what’s the other kid’s name, (Marvin) Bagley – I’m trying to play with him because I feel like I’m faster than them, I’m stronger than them," Antetokounmpo said. "So I’m going to try to make a play for myself or my teammates. That’s something I’ve figured out that I got to do more this season.”

That dunk was one of many for Antetokounmpo on the day, including his third in a two-minute span early in the third quarter. Each escalated in their degree of difficulty, with a driving dunk immediately followed by an alley-oop from Khris Middleton then the slam on Koufos. That last immediately went viral, though Antetokounmpo downplayed it saying he feels a bit guilty doing it at the expense of Koufos, a fellow Greek.

BOX SCORE: Bucks 144, Kings 109

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"He's a great guy. Like, he's a great guy," Antetokounmpo said. "I've met his family. I've met his mother. It's going be kind of awkward when we go back to Greece and talk again, but you gotta do what you gotta do."

That memorable dunk was part of an outstanding performance by Antetokounmpo, who finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists for his 11th career triple-double. With the game out of reach, Antetokounmpo looked intent on distributing to his teammates as much as possible to finish out the triple-double.

He achieved that at the end of the third quarter. That's when he grabbed a rebound with 5.8 seconds left, charged across the court and whipped a pass to Pat Connaughton in the corner for a buzzer-beating three-pointer -- good for Antetokounmpo's 10th assist.

“I’ve learned very quickly that you should always be ready when Giannis Antetokounmpo has the ball," said Connaughton, who finished with 13 points. "I always think back to my football playing days when I was a quarterback and I used to have some of my receivers get hit in the helmet because they weren’t ready for it. Similar with Giannis on the floor, you always have to be ready to shoot.

"Fortunately, in that instance, I saw that he was taking a few dribbles to the right, my defender leaked over a little bit and I knew I was open. For him to see that, that was incredible. I was happy to get him his 10th assist.”

As a team, three-pointers returned to being a way of life for the Bucks one game removed from a quiet night from beyond the arc against the Boston Celtics on Thursday. Eleven different players connected on a three-pointer as part of the Bucks' record-setting game, with Connaughton nailing the record-breaking 20th three-pointer of the game in the fourth quarter.

Center John Henson, who had 10 points in the win, pushed the Bucks' three-point total higher by hitting a pair of three-pointers in the latter stages of the game.

“Glad I could be a part of that," Henson said. "When my kids are saying, ‘Dad, you didn’t play in the NBA’ or ‘Dad, you suck,’ I’ll be like, ‘Listen, look up this record. I was on that team.’ I definitely think we can beat (the NBA record of 25 threes in a game). Hopefully we can do it this year.”

Collectively, the Bucks had eight players score in double figures, using Sacramento's proclivity for playing fast against them. Eric Bledsoe put up 17 points, Ersan Ilyasova had 15, Malcolm Brogdon added 13, Tony Snell chalked up 12 and even on an off night Khris Middleton finished with 12.

With the win, the Bucks moved to 6-0 at their new home and will be riding high heading into a four-game West Coast road trip that begins on Tuesday in Portland.

“Portland’s tough, Golden State’s going to be tough, Clippers are good, Nuggets are obviously playing really well," Henson said. "It’s kind of going to be gut-check time. The goal on the road is to always come out with more wins than losses. If we can do that we’ll be fine.”