Pat Connaughton joins exclusive fraternity by collecting 43 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists for Bucks

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The list of players who were known to have collected at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a single game for the Milwaukee Bucks before Sunday only included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.

Now you can add one more person to that exclusive fraternity: Pat Connaughton.

On a day when both teams rested most of their regulars to make sure they’re healthy for the playoffs, Connaughton capitalized by scoring a career-high 43 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists Sunday afternoon in the Bucks’ 140-133 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons.

“What makes me most proud about tonight was we won the game,” Connaughton said. “At the end of the day, and I know the circumstances – 82nd game of the year, et cetera, et cetera, the playoffs all settled, et cetera – but we won the game.”

According to Sportradar, Abdul-Jabbar, Antetokounmpo and Middleton were the only Bucks players confirmed to have produced 40-10-5 games before Sunday. Sportradar noted that Flynn Robinson scored 45 points for the club against the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 22, 1969, but his rebound and assist totals for that game are unknown.

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Connaughton was an unlikely candidate to add his name to the list.

The 32-year-old guard is one of four players remaining form Milwaukee’s 2021 championship team along with Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis. But he was out of Milwaukee’s playing rotation for much of this season.

He entered Sunday averaging 14 minutes and 4.3 points per game - his lowest in both categories since 2016-17 with Portland. He hadn’t scored more than 10 points in a game all season.

No wonder that as Connaughton stepped up to the podium for postgame press conferences, he stated that “it’s like a foreign place to me recently.”

“I’ve always been somebody who prides myself on trying to help impact winning,” Connaughton said. “From a role standpoint, I try to control what I can control. Obviously there’s ebbs and flows to every NBA season. There’s times you score 43 points in a game. There’s times when you don’t play in a game.

“I think the professional side and the mental side is you’ve got to stay ready. You’ve got to be ready at all times. You’ve got to try to find a way to impact winning whether you’re on the court or off the court. You’ve got to still have confidence in yourself, that when you’re on the court, you’re providing the best chance for your team to win while being out there.”

His readiness was apparent in this unusual game in which both the Bucks and Pistons already were locked into their respective playoff positions. The fifth-seeded Bucks face Indiana and the sixth-seeded Pistons meet New York in the opening round of the playoffs.

Antetokounmpo didn’t play Sunday. Neither did Lopez, Portis, Taurean Prince, Gary Trent Jr. or Ryan Rollins. The only usual Bucks starter to play was Kyle Kuzma, who scored 22 points in the first quarter before sitting out the rest of the game.

Detroit rested Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart and went deeper into its bench as the game progressed.

That left Connaughton as one of the most experienced players on the floor. He helped the Bucks maintain the lead most of the way. And after the Bucks blew an eight-point lead in the final 15 seconds of the fourth quarter, Connaughton responded by scoring 10 points in overtime.

His 43 points nearly doubled his previous career high of 24, set Oct. 18, 2017, against Phoenix. His 11 rebounds were just one off his career high, and his five assists matched a season high. He also set career highs in minutes (43 1/2), baskets (16) and field-goal attempts (29).

His teammates showed their appreciation. Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard doused him with water bottles as he gave a postgame television interview from the court.

“I said to Dame and Giannis afterwards, I always knew it would be hard to score this many points, but I think it’s underrated how much it takes out of you by the time you get to overtime – going downhill on every play and trying to just make a play,” Connaughton said.

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