Thursday night wins for Boston Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder
Friday 9 November 2018 18:47, UK
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 24 points as the rampant Milwaukee Bucks cruised to a 134-111 victory over the Golden State Warriors, whose star man Stephen Curry left the game with a left adductor strain.
Eric Bledsoe scored six of his game-high 26 points during a second-quarter flurry that allowed the Milwaukee Bucks to build a double-digit lead en route to a shockingly comfortable 134-111 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and Malcolm Brogdon 20 for the Bucks, who had lost two of three after a 7-0 start.
Klay Thompson led Golden State with 24 points on a night when backcourt mate Stephen Curry missed all four of his three-point attempts and was held to 10 points. Curry left the game for good in the third quarter due to a left adductor strain.
The loss snapped Golden State's eight-game winning streak and was their first home defeat this season.
A three-pointer by Thompson got the Warriors within 40-39 in the fifth minute of the second quarter before the Bucks used a 15-2 burst to run away. Bledsoe had two hoops and two free throws in the run, while Pat Connaughton contributed four points.
The Bucks went on to lead by as many as 15 in the second quarter and then 105-79 after three before coasting home.
Khris Middleton had 17 points and Connaughton 15 for the Bucks, who won despite shooting just 9-for-35 (25.7 per cent) from three-point range.
Antetokounmpo also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, helping Milwaukee win for a second consecutive season at Golden State.
Kyrie Irving recorded a season-high 39 points and also had seven rebounds and six assists to help the Boston Celtics rally to a 116-109 overtime road victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Marcus Morris added 17 points and drained the tying three-point basket in regulation as Boston recovered from a 22-point third-quarter deficit.
Jaylen Brown connected on the go-ahead three-pointer in overtime to cap a 17-point effort and Terry Rozier added 10 points.
Devin Booker scored a season-high 38 points and added nine assists and TJ Warren scored a season-high 29 points for Phoenix, who have lost nine of their 11 games this season. Deandre Ayton contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds and Trevor Ariza added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 48 points as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 116-105.
Lillard scored 25 points and McCollum added 23 as the Trail Blazers earned their third consecutive win and their sixth in the past seven outings. Jusuf Nurkic contributed 16 points and nine rebounds.
Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams each scored 20 points for the Clippers.
Montrezl Harrell and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander both chipped in 19 points, and Tobias Harris had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the losers.
Paul George produced 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder won their seventh consecutive game, beating the visiting Houston Rockets 98-80 on Thursday night.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak by the Rockets, who were led by James Harden's 19 points. But Harden made just seven of 19 shots from the floor and 4-of-12 from behind the three-point line.
Houston's 80-point scoring effort was the lowest for an NBA team this season.
Steven Adams added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, while Terrance Ferguson hit four three-pointers to score 14 points.
Both teams struggled from behind the three-point line, though. Oklahoma City shot 9-of-37 (24.3 per cent) from beyond the arc while Houston managed 11 of 42 (26.2 per cent).
The Thunder were without Russell Westbrook for the second consecutive game after the All-Star guard suffered a sprained ankle in Monday's win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
But while the Thunder looked lost at times without Westbrook during the season's first two games as the point guard returned from offseason knee surgery, Oklahoma City used defensive intensity to find a way to win without him this time around, holding the Rockets to just 37.8 per cent shooting from the field.
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