Giannis gambit fails as NBA rescinds triple-double

Giannis Antetokounmpo said he stole a triple-double. The NBA took it back.

The league adjusted the statistics from the Bucks’ win over the Wizards on Sunday night, erasing Antetokounmpo’s final rebound that would have given him his fourth triple-double this season.

He grabbed a defensive rebound with about nine seconds left, knowing that left him one rebound short of 10. He hustled the ball downcourt, got near the rim the Bucks were shooting at, hesitated for a moment, and then intentionally threw the ball into the bottom of the rim before catching it.

“Kind of stole one,” Antetokounmpo acknowledged Sunday night.

On-site statisticians credited him with a missed shot and a 10th rebound from that play. The NBA reviews all stats from each game and regularly makes changes to correct errors or omissions, and it removed the last rebound Monday. According to league rules, for a field goal attempt to count as official, the player has to shoot “with intent to score a field goal.”

Milwaukee won 117-111. Antetokounmpo finished, officially, with 23 points, 13 assists and 9 rebounds. The stat adjustment dropped his rebound average from 11.94 per game to 11.92 — but his shooting percentage, with the missed “shot” also erased, improved from .538 to .539.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.