Watch: Giannis Antetokounmpo skyrockets for alley oop slam off inbounds pass

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are hosting the New York Knicks in an exciting quarter-final game in the NBA In-Season Tournament. Milwaukee went undefeated in the group stage but nearly lost to New York. The Bucks entered the knockout round by topping their bracket while the Knicks earned a spot as the conference’s wild-card team. Both teams are trading haymakers for a chance to grab a ticket to Las Vegas to face the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals.

Antetokounmpo was expected to be front and center of New York’s game plan. He is the Bucks’ most important two-way player. Nobody on Milwaukee’s side brings his combination of elite offense and All-NBA defense. He finished the first half with 16 points on 7-9 shooting but looked ready to do more.

In the third quarter against the Knicks, he had a play that had the Fiserv Forum crowd on its feet:

The two-time MVP faked a screen near the three-point line before quickly cutting into the lane for an alley-oop. Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle fell into the trick, allowing the Greek superstar to rise for an uncontested dunk. Khris Middleton's perfect pass was all he needed to slam the ball.

After scoring 16 first-half points, Giannis Antetokounmpo has already added 13 more in the third quarter alone. Overall, he has tallied 29 points, hitting 12-16 shots, to go with six assists, four rebounds and three steals. His output was a big reason the Bucks are taking a 112-96 lead going into the fourth quarter.

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Julius Randle and Giannis Antetokounmpo are putting on an epic battle

Julius Randle came out of the gate like a house on fire. He finished the first half with 25 points, hitting 9-9 of his shots and going 6-6 from the free-throw line. Despite his hot hand, the New York Knicks trailed 72-75 after the first 24 minutes of the game.

Randle has sustained his sizzling start, he added 11 more in the third quarter to battle Giannis Antetokounmpo’s explosion in the third period. The two have hardly guarded each other as both teams try to get mismatches for their star players.

The fourth quarter may be different. They could still be putting up points but also guard each other on the other end. Basketball fans are getting their money’s worth. Two of the Eastern Conference’s best power forwards are going mano-a-mano in the quarter-final of the NBA In-Season Tournament.

Only one of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Julius Randle will lead his team to the semifinals, which is just unfortunate. Tonight, basketball fans are the winners based on what the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks are showing.