Giannis Antetokounmpo returned following a six-game absence and scored 23 points in 24 minutes as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 116-110 on Thursday.
Brook Lopez scored 22 points, Damian Lillard added 15 and Taurean Prince had 14 for Milwaukee, which outscored the Clippers by 15 in the fourth quarter. Kyle Kuzma and Kevin Porter Jr. chipped in 13 points apiece. Milwaukee played without forward Bobby Portis, who was suspended earlier in the day by the NBA for 25 games for violating the league’s anti-drug policy.
After sitting out one game with right knee pain, Antetokounmpo missed the past five games as well as All-Star weekend with a strained left calf. He was on a minutes restriction against the Clippers and rested for much of the fourth quarter as the Bucks gained control in the final minutes, but he still grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 25 points. James Harden added 24 points, Ivica Zubac had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 15 off the bench.
Nuggets 129, Hornets 115
Nikola Jokic produced 29 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists, Jamal Murray scored 34, and host Denver beat Charlotte for a ninth straight win.
Aaron Gordon scored 18 points, Julian Strawther had 16 points off the bench and Christian Braun put up 10 points for Denver. Michael Porter Jr. struggled with his shot but pulled down 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who are unbeaten in eight February games.
Miles Bridges scored a season-high 36 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Josh Green scored 19 points and Nick Smith Jr. contributed 16 points for Charlotte, which was coming off a 100-97 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. Damion Baugh added 14 points, and Moussa Diabate scored 11 points.
Magic 114, Hawks 108
Paolo Banchero scored 36 points and helped visiting Orlando erase a 19-point lead and defeat Atlanta.
The game was tied 103-103 on a basket by Caris LeVert with 2:57 left, but the Magic scored nine straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Cole Anthony and Banchero. Banchero was 11-for-25 from the field to produce his seventh game of 30-plus points, with 11 rebounds and five assists. Franz Wagner added 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Georgia native Wendell Carter Jr. had a season-high 15 rebounds.
Atlanta got 38 points from Trae Young, his 16th game with 30-plus points this season. LeVert scored 13 and Zaccharie Risacher added 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Cavaliers 110, Nets 97
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and Cleveland pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Brooklyn in New York.
Evan Mobley collected 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, Darius Garland contributed 18 points and nine assists, and former Brooklyn center Jarrett Allen finished with 16 points and a season-high 20 rebounds.
Cameron Johnson scored 18 points for the Nets, who saw their third three-game winning streak of the season end. They have yet to win four straight. Keon Johnson added 16 points and Trendon Watford put up 13.
Knicks 113, Bulls 111 (OT)
Miles McBride hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:58 left in overtime to begin the decisive run as New York beat visiting Chicago.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored the next six points to close out the 9-0 run for the Knicks, who led 113-106 with 1:15 remaining. Towns (32 points, 18 rebounds), Jalen Brunson (22 points, 12 assists) and Mikal Bridges (13 points, 10 rebounds) all had double-doubles for the Knicks, who extended their winning streak to three games despite the absence of OG Anunoby and Josh Hart.
Josh Giddey (27 points, 16 rebounds) had a double-double for the Bulls, who have lost five straight. Vucevic finished with 21 points and nine rebounds.
Pacers 127, Grizzlies 113
Tyrese Haliburton had 22 points and nine assists as Indiana rode a 50-point second quarter to a victory over Memphis in Indianapolis.
Myles Turner racked up 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks for the Pacers. Haliburton had an injury scare when he sustained a right shoulder contusion while crashing into a courtside camera operator late in the third quarter, but he returned to the game in the fourth.
Desmond Bane scored 23 points for the Grizzlies, who have lost three of four games. Ja Morant posted 12 points and six assists, but he committed five turnovers and shot 4 of 15 from the field.
Celtics 124, 76ers 104
Payton Pritchard scored 28 points off the bench and Jayson Tatum recorded a triple-double as Boston stormed out of the All-Star break with a road victory over Philadelphia.
Pritchard made eight of his team’s 24 3-pointers, helping Boston win its seventh straight game away from TD Garden and fourth in a row overall. Jaylen Brown (20 points), Kristaps Porzingis (17) and Derrick White (16 points, 10 rebounds) also made solid contributions for the defending champs.
Paul George had 17 points to pace Philadelphia, which has lost six games in a row. Tyrese Maxey (16 points), Kelly Oubre Jr. (16) and Joel Embiid (15) were among the other top scorers for the Sixers.
Lakers 110, Trail Blazers 102
LeBron James scored 40 points for the second time since turning 40 and also grabbed eight rebounds while leading Los Angeles to a win in Portland.
Austin Reaves added 32 points and seven assists as the Lakers bounced back from a dreary 100-97 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets one night earlier. Dorian Finney-Smith had 10 points for Los Angeles.
Deni Avdija had 28 points and five assists and Toumani Camara registered 19 points, seven rebounds and five steals for Portland. Scoot Henderson added 12 points and Shaedon Sharpe had 11 for the Trail Blazers, who lost their fourth consecutive contest.
Spurs 120, Suns 109
De’Aaron Fox scored 26 points, including 11 straight San Antonio points in the final 3:18, as the short-handed Spurs defeated slumping Phoenix in Austin, Texas.
San Antonio played without star center Victor Wembanyama, who on Thursday was ruled out for the season with a blood clot in his right shoulder. Keldon Johnson and Julian Champagnie added 15 points each off the bench for the Spurs, who won for the second time in three games.
Royce O’Neale led the Suns with 27 points. Kevin Durant added 22, Bradley Beal had 19 and Devin Booker tallied 17 as Phoenix dropped its fourth game in a row.
–Field Level Media
Comments