Eight years ago today, the mountainous Croat Andrew Bogut wandered into the Mecca of Basketball like mythical Stribog himself, putting up a stat line bigger than the Dandenong Ranges Bogey once called home. And, in beating the pants off the New York Knicks like he was the ghost of Reggie Miller come to haunt Spike Lee, also put up the best numbers EVER by an Australian at Madison Square Garden!
Endeavour Hills’s favourite son led his Milwaukee Bucks into MSG — the world’s most famous arena not counting the MCG — and had his 3rd career 20/20 game, leaving the Knicks more cooked than Dr Karl on the pingas!
The Croatian Wilt Chamberlain went a legitimately unreal 12-of-15 from the floor — all of them dunks, layups or putbacks — for 24 points. Not only that, but Bogey tore down 20 rebounds (the fourth most of his entire career) as if he were playing against the Boronia Under-8s, while his FIVE BLOCKS (also his fourth most ever) were swatted away with a confident nonchalance befitting Craig Lowndes taking the ol’ VT HSV GTSR for a spin down to the shops for milk and durries.
Smartly — knowing that he wouldn’t bloody well get the ball back from the likes of Brandon ‘shoot it from China’ Jennings — Bogut didn’t bother to register an assist… but perhaps it wasn’t for lack of trying, as Jennings, John ‘West Knows Best’ Salmons and Carlos ‘AirGentina’ Delfino went a combined 11-of-40. That’s worse than when they tried to reboot ‘Hey Hey It’s Saturday’.
Unbelievably, this was only Bogey’s THIRD best game of the year, showing just how dominant the Big Fella was before that mongrel Amar’e Stoudemire undercut him a month later and mangled his right arm about as much as Meatloaf mangled ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ at the 2011 AFL Granny a year later.
Anyway. Sure Bogey had 3 fouls and 3 turnovers as well, but you get that on the big jobs. Still smashed the Knicks with a 20/20 and 5 blocks!
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