Giannis scores 64, but who’s got the game ball? Plus, the NBA suspends Draymond Green indefinitely

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🏀 Good morning to everyone but especially …

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO

The Bucks have been around for a long time and had some all-time great players. But no one has ever done what Giannis Antetokounmpo did Wednesday night: a franchise-record 64 points to go along with 14 rebounds and four steals in a wild 140-126 win over the Pacers.

• The only other player in NBA history to hit those three marks in a game is Michael Jordan in 1990.
• In three games against the Pacers this season, Antetokounmpo has scored 54, 37 and now 64 points.

Then things got even crazier: The Pacers walked off the court with what was thought to be the game ball, and Antetokounmpo sprinted after them. Then Antetokounmpo and Tyrese Haliburton got in a shouting match. The Pacers apparently wanted it for Oscar Tshiebwe‘s first career point. (Uhhhhh, sure?) … Who says a mid-December NBA tilt can’t get a little spicy?

Anyway, it was yet another incredible performance from Antetokounmpo, who — for the record — said post-game that he isn’t even sure if the ball that was presented to him actually was in fact the game ball. Confused? Let Brad Botkin break it down for you.

And Antetokounmpo wasn’t the only Bucks player who made history in this game, as Damian Lillard moved into fifth place on the all-time 3-pointers list.

😃 Honorable mentions

😳 And not such a good morning for …

DRAYMOND GREEN AND THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

The NBA suspended Draymond Green indefinitely one day after he struck Suns center Jusuf Nurkic with a blindside roundhouse shot to the side of the head. Green said the wild swipe was an accident; Nurkic said Green “needs help.”

• The league says Green “will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play.”
• Green, Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr., and Green’s agent Rich Paul will reportedly meet today to discuss a path forward with counseling.

Green’s past — and his reputation resulting from it — certainly plays a role here. Just last month, Green, Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels were ejected after a brawl that featured Green pulling Rudy Gobert out of a scrum by using a chokehold. Green was suspended five games and said he didn’t regret his actions. Green was also ejected four days earlier for a squabble with Donovan Mitchell.

Overall, Green has been ejected 19 times in his career. Jack Maloney looked at all 19 ejections, and it’s not pretty. This is also Green’s sixth career suspension. And while Stephen Curry has had Green’s back time after time, this latest suspension will test Curry’s limits, opines Colin Ward-Henninger.

It feels like it’s getting late early for the 10-13 Warriors. There’s always been a pull between the legendary (but aging) Curry-Thompson-Green trio and the younger players. Tuesday, the Warriors closed the game with Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney on the bench and Jonathan Kuminga and rookie Brandin Podziemski on the court, and the second unit almost pulled it off. On the surface, it might be a one-off surprise. Dig deeper, though, and you find a desperate team looking for answers, writes Botkin.

• Botkin: “Out with the legacy hierarchies, and in with the best men for the job. … Asked about Podziemski getting the start in the third quarter over Wiggins and closing over Thompson, Steve Kerr was direct in his assessment: ‘He’s playing better than those guys.’ … There is absolutely no leeway here. No margin for error. On their best night, as currently constructed, the Warriors still aren’t a true contender. If you think they are, you are living in the past.”

👎 Not so honorable mentions

👀 Judge to NCAA: Let them play

U.S. District Court Judge John Bailey issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA rule requiring multi-time transfers to sit out a season.

• The restraining order lasts just 14 days, but it serves as another blow to the NCAA’s legitimacy as the governing body of college athletics.
• The NCAA is expected to appeal, with the next hearing scheduled for Dec. 27.

How did we get here, with the legislative branch of the U.S. government getting involved? David Cobb explains:

• Cobb: “A pair of lawsuits — one by the attorneys general from seven states and one from West Virginia basketball player RaeQuan Battle — both allege the NCAA’s transfer restriction violated antitrust law. Because Battle was a third-time, non-graduate transfer, he was denied immediate eligibility by the NCAA; however, Wednesday’s ruling clears the way for the former Washington and Montana State guard to suit up for the Mountaineers as a key member of the team’s rotation.”

This issue has been prevalent in many sports — North Carolina star wide receiver Tez Walker had perhaps the biggest saga — and in late October, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors requested that NCAA staff and committees consider modifying the current rule, which allows second-time transfers to receive immediate eligibility only in cases of a physical injury or mental health condition that pushed them to transfer or “exigent circumstances” such as assault or abuse. In turn, the NCAA has been criticized for what’s perceived as a subjective waiver-granting process.

⚽ UEFA Champions League round of 16 set

UEFA Champions League Group F promised drama and delivered in a big way. PSG is through by the narrowest of margins, and not even from its own doing. Les Parisiens only managed a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund but advanced thanks to AC Milan‘s 2-1 victory over Newcastle. PSG and AC Milan both finished the group with eight points — three behind group winner Dortmund — but PSG had a superior goal differential.

The only other spot up for grabs Wednesday was in Group H, and it required much less drama: Porto beat Shakhtar Donetsk, 5-3, to make the round of 16. Here is the complete field:

Seeded teams (group winners):

• Arsenal
• Atletico Madrid
• Barcelona
• Bayern Munich
• Borussia Dortmund
• Manchester City
• Real Madrid
• Real Sociedad

Unseeded teams (runners-up):

• Copenhagen
• Inter
• Lazio
• Napoli
• Paris Saint-Germain
• Porto
• PSV
• RB Leipzig

Spain produced four group winners, with one of them featuring arguably the best player of the group stage. He features prominently in James Benge’s Champions League team of the group stage and requires little explanation.

• Benge: “CAM: Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid — That’s future multiple Ballon d’Or winner Jude Bellingham to you lot. Nuff said.”

Real Madrid also features prominently in Chuck Booth’s Champions League Power Rankings:

1. Manchester United (previous: 1)
2. Real Madrid (2)
3. Arsenal (3)
4. Bayern Munich (4)
5. Atletico Madrid (8)

With the round of 16 draw coming Monday, Pardeep Cattry has full analysis of the teams going through.

🏈 NFL to play in Brazil in ’24, more international games in ’25

The NFL is heading south next season. Way south. Brazil will host its first NFL game in 2024, the league announced, with Arena Corinthians in São Paulo as the destination.

Brazil is the latest addition to the future international slate, which continues to grow. The league plans to increase its 2025 schedule of games played outside of the United States to nine. There were five international games this season as well as last season, but the NFL has bigger ambitions moving forward. The Jaguars will play in England at least once in each of the next two years.

At the end of the day, I’m never going to complain about more football in more places. It’s both fun and admirable to see the NFL bringing its game into new markets. Time to ask my bosses if they can send me to São Paulo next fall!

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

🏀 Cavaliers at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 Chargers at Raiders, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 Warriors at Clippers, 10:30 p.m. on NBA TV