Antetokounmpo urges Bucks teammates to build “good habits” amidst a slumping pre-season

Kyrie Irving scored 23 points, Kevin Durant had 19 points and eight assists and the Brooklyn Nets won their first game of the preseason, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 107-97 Wednesday night.

Ben Simmons finished with seven points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led winless Milwaukee with 24 points and 14 rebounds in 32 minutes. Jrue Holiday finished with 20 points and Jevon Carter, starting alongside Holiday at guard, added 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting. The Bucks fell to 0-5 in the preseason.

The game matched Eastern Conference teams entering the season with plenty of optimism. Milwaukee is a year removed from its championship.

For Brooklyn, a lot of promise last season was hindered by injuries and Irving’s inability to play at home because of COVID-19 vaccination issues.

“It’s good, you know, getting back in the rhythm is not going to be easy. You know, I think sometimes your mind forget you think it’s going to be easy and you can expect things. You know, I feel like me personally, we got to, you know, come out and set the tone, play hard, build good habits, play to improve, play for the team. And as a team, we have to we have to be hungry. You know, we have to play together. We’ve got to defend better because it’s not going to be easy.”, Antetokounmpo said.