The Los Angeles Clippers didn't have a good start to the season. Their two offseason acquisitions didn't play together for the first dozen games. But when they did, they showed championship form. That is, until they met the Milwaukee Bucks led by MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. In their Friday night game, the Clippers suffered a heartbreaking 119-91 loss. It marked the Buck's 14th straight win of the season and gave then a 20-3 record. They are now tied with the Los Angeles Lakers as the league's top teams.

The game happened right on the 25th birthday of reigning MVP Antetokounmpo. His teammates made sure that there are a lot of reasons to celebrate. The Greek Freak scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. It's a bit lower than his current season average of 31 points and 13.2 rebounds, but he only played 26 minutes. He was taken out of the game early in the 4th quarter with the Bucks holding a dominating lead. But according to USA Today, the Bucks didn't let the birthday boy do all the heavy lifting. Fellow starting forward Khris Middleton scored 10 of his 17 points in the first quarter. Pat Connaughton added 13, and Ersan Ilyasova also scored 13 while playing only 10 minutes.

It was such a one-sided affair that the Bucks even led as much as 41 points at one point in the game. Bucks guard Wesley Matthews only scored 9 points, but that is from 3 of 5 shooting from beyond the arc. He also played stout defense, limiting Clippers all-star Kawhi Leonard to only 17 points. The other Clipper all-star was also shut down by the Bucks defense. Paul George only produced 13 points in the game. The best performer for the Clippers was center Ivica Zubac who scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

The Bucks made sure their MVP's birthday ended up with a win. They held the Clippers to 35% field goal shooting and forced 21 turnovers. The crowd made sure to thank their birthday boy superstar by singing a Birthday song as he was taken out of the game in the final quarter.

Giannis Antetokounmpo
NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo at an event in Manila by King Bally Entertainment /Stephen Lavoie Stephen Lavoie