Thon Maker had an amazing performance against the Detroit Pistons today, clinching a career-high 23 points in the most minutes he's ever logged to date.

Maker was named to the start once more as the Milwaukee Bucks' starting centre, and proved his value to the team. He was the only Milwaukee starter who logged less than 30 minutes of play (Maker had almost 25 minutes), but attempted the third-most shots on the team. On a night when the Bucks sorely needed scoring, Maker hit 9 of his 12 field goals --including 4 of 7 from the three-point line-- and helped the team to an overtime victory against the Pistons. Not only was his long-range shooting on display, Maker also scored easily at the rim thanks to the Bucks' ball movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P2M1yPk2x4

Perhaps it was All-Star teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo, who made sure Maker was ready to close out tonight's game.

"I told him, to play in this game you don't have to hesitate," Antetokounmpo shared after the game. 'Actually, in overtime I told him, 'If you hesitate, I'm going to punch you so shoot the ball whenever you get it.'

Maker most definitely did not hesitate when overtime began. He took four shots in overtime, including a critical 3-pointer delivered by Matthew Dellavedova, that helped put the Bucks ahead by 3, and surge to a comeback victory.

“When you talk about Maker’s play, he picked up his teammates,” Bucks head coach, Jason Kidd, said post-game (via Fox Sports Australia).

“He took advantage of his minutes. I thought he did a great job in the pick-and-roll, trying to change shots, then offensively, he came up with a big offensive tip-out to Khris (Middleton), and Khris made the shot. But, it wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Maker.”

Other Aussie scorelines:

• Matthew Dellavedova had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists in this game

• Aron Baynes had four points, five rebounds in 21 minutes coming off the bench

*Thanks to Craig McCall @auscreg for the heads up on Antetokounmpo's comment.