Fact check: Did Giannis Antetokounmpo suffer one of the worst chokes of all time in 2023 Game 5 against Heat?

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks suffered one of the biggest upsets in NBA history after losing to the Miami Heat in five games in the opening round of the playoffs (4-1).

It was a major upset for the team that finished with the best record in the regular season (58-24), but defeated Miami only once in the postseason.

Milwaukee saw its leader Giannis Antetokoumpo miss three of the five games with a back injury. Even though he returned for Games 4 and 5, his dominant performance was not enough for the Bucks to turn things around

The "Greek Freak" returned in Game 4 for a triple-double and looked even more dominant in Game 5 with 38 points and 20 rebounds. However, the Bucks still lost both games.

Giannis was 10-for-23 in free throws in the game with a .435 percentage. The Bucks were 8-9 in playoff games when Giannis shoots under .500 in free throws in a playoff game.

The 23 free throws were a career playoff high for Giannis, howeve, the 13 missed free throws were also the most he has missed in any NBA game (regular season or playoffs) in his career.

Giannis Antetokounmpo struggled when it mattered the most in Game 5

Miami Heat v Milwaukee Bucks - Game Two

Despite his stellar numbers, Giannis Antetokounmpo struggled when it mattered the most, namely in the fourth quarter and overtime of Game 5. The Bucks shot 3 for 19 in the fourth quarter vs the Heat and then 2 for 6 in overtime. Giannis Antetokounmpo was 1 for 9 in the fourth quarter.

In a post game interview, he said:

"The ball did not go in. It's as simple as that. Got to my spot. I wasn't able to make shots. That's pretty much it. If I had made the shots it would have been a different case."

Milwaukee blew a 16-point lead (86-102) and was outscored by the Heat 42-24 in the final 18 minutes of the game. Their leader went 3-12 from the field and 3-9 from the free-throw line, with three turnovers and a +/- of -18.

Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 4th quarter + OT of game 5 2023 round 1: 3-12 from the field 3-9 from the Free throw line 3 turnovers -18 +/- 16 point lead blown & lost to the 8th seed One of the worst chokes ever by u/ArrayMichael7 in nba

Heading to the fourth quarter and overtime of Game 5, the Bucks scored just 24 points on their last 38 possessions, a rate of just 0.63 points per possession. Over those 18 minutes, they shot 5-for-27 and turned the ball over seven times.

In the regular season, the Bucks were a league-best 51-3 when leading after the third quarter and 47-2 when they led by double-digits in the fourth.

They led Game 4 by 11 points after three and by 12 with six minutes left. Entering the fourth quarter in Game 5, they were up 16, but lost both games, ending their season in a disappointing way.

However, Giannis Antetokounmpo is confident his team will come back stronger next year and will look to get the job done and win its second title in four years and the second one after 2021.

Giannis Antetokounmpo explained:

"We are going to come back next year, try to be better, try to build good habits, try to play better and not have a ten-day stretch with playing bad basketball. You know, hopefully we can win a championship. So 50 years from 1971 to 2021 that we didn't win a championship, it was 50 years of failure? No it was not. It was steps to it and we were able to win one, hopefully we can win another one."