LaVine's 27 points helped the Bulls extend their winning run to nine; Antetokounmpo racked up 32 points and nine assists as the Bucks beat the Nets in Brooklyn; Elsewhere, LeBron James came to the fore as Los Angeles Lakers made it four wins in a row
Saturday 8 January 2022 08:41, UK
Zach LaVine led the way for the Chicago Bulls as they kept their winning run going, Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to action to play a starring role in the Milwaukee Bucks' win and LeBron James was at the forefront for the LA Lakers, plus the rest of Friday's NBA action...
Zach LaVine's game-high 27 points led six Chicago Bulls in double figures Friday night as they stretched their winning streak to nine games with a defeat of the visiting Washington Wizards.
Coby White came off the bench to score 21, while Lonzo Ball and Ayo Dosunmu each added 18 points. Nikola Vucevic stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and DeMar DeRozan contributed 15 points and eight assists.
All five starters scored in double figures for Washington, led by Bradley Beal's 26 points. Kyle Kuzma added a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in 18 points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Daniel Gafford each scored 14 points.
The difference in a game where both teams hit better than 50 per cent of their shots came at the three-point line. While the Bulls made 15 of 33 from distance, the Wizards were only 7 of 24, a 24-point difference that was too great to overcome.
Joel Embiid had 31 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to lift hosts Philadelphia 76ers past a depleted San Antonio Spurs.
Embiid, who went to the locker room before the game went final, reached at least 30 points for the sixth consecutive game. Seth Curry and Tobias Harris contributed 23 points apiece for the Sixers, who matched a season best with their sixth win in a row.
The Spurs were quite short-handed without Keldon Johnson, Derrick White, Doug McDermott, Thaddeus Young, Devin Vassell and Tre Jones in health and safety protocol.
Dejounte Murray led the Spurs with 27 points and nine assists. Jakob Poeltl added 17 points and Lonnie Walker IV had 13 for San Antonio, which has lost five of its last six games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as Milwaukee Bucks cruised to a wire-to-wire victory over slumping Brooklyn Nets in New York.
Antetokounmpo returned from missing Wednesday's loss to Toronto due to an illness and helped Milwaukee win for the seventh time in nine games.
Bobby Portis helped the Bucks establish the tone for their dominating showing by adding 20 of his 25 points in the first half. Khris Middleton contributed 15 of his 20 in the third quarter when the visitors opened a 24-point lead.
Kevin Durant totalled 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but it was not enough as the Nets dropped their fifth straight home game and lost for the fourth time in five games. James Harden added 16, nine rebounds and seven assists.
D'Angelo Russell scored 27 points and 12 assists to lead Minnesota Timberwolves to a win over hosts Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Timberwolves extended their winning streak to three while the Thunder have lost three in a row and five of six. Anthony Edwards set the tone early, scoring 17 first-quarter points, making all six of his shots including five three-pointers.
Luguentz Dort, returning after missing back-to-back games with a knee injury, led Oklahoma City with 18 points.
LeBron James scored 32 points with nine assists and Malik Monk added a season-high 29 points as Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to four games with a victory over visiting Atlanta Hawks.
Avery Bradley and Talen Horton-Tucker each had 21 points for the Lakers, who have won five of their last six games following a five-game losing streak that came immediately after Anthony Davis was lost for a month with a knee injury.
Trae Young scored 25 points with 14 assists and nine rebounds as the Hawks fell to 2-3 on a six-game road trip that concludes Sunday in Los Angeles against the Clippers. Young had his 17th consecutive game of 25 or more points to break Dominique Wilkins' franchise record.
Nikola Jokic racked up 33 points and 10 rebounds and Jeff Green chipped in with 18 points after missing three games while on the Covid-19 list as hosts Denver Nuggets beat Sacramento Kings.
Bones Hyland, Monte Morris and JaMychal Green scored 13 apiece and Aaron Gordon and Will Barton each had 10 points for the Nuggets.
De'Aaron Fox led Sacramento with 30 points, Alex Len had 18 points, Tyrese Haliburton added 14 and Marvin Bagley III scored 12.
Tim Hardaway Jr. accounted for 19 points and seven assists off the bench, and Reggie Bullock hit five three-pointers as visiting Dallas Mavericks cruised to a victory over Houston Rockets.
The Mavericks were without Kristaps Porzingis and coach Jason Kidd, both sidelined by league health and safety protocols, and Luka Doncic (right ankle sprain), yet rolled to their fifth-consecutive win. Bullock finished with 15 points. Jalen Brunson recorded a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists.
Christian Wood scored 20 points but grabbed just three rebounds, seven fewer than his average.
Jae'Sean Tate added 15 points and eight boards, while Garrison Mathews scored 15 off the bench for Houston, who trailed by as many as 31 points in the second half and have dropped nine of their last 10 games.
Fred VanVleet scored 24 of his 37 points in the third quarter and added 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double as host Toronto wore down depleted Utah Jazz.
OG Anunoby added 22 points for the Raptors, who have won five in a row. Pascal Siakam contributed 17 points for Toronto. Chris Boucher had 13 points, Scottie Barnes had 11 points and nine rebounds and Gary Trent Jr scored 10 points for the Raptors.
Utah was missing eight players, including stars Donovan Mitchell (back strain) and Rudy Gobert (health and safety protocol). Eric Paschall scored 29 points for the Jazz, who had a 10-game road winning streak end.
Darius Garland recorded 26 points and made five three-pointers to help Cleveland Cavaliers post a long-sought victory over hosts Portland.
Evan Mobley registered 18 points and eight rebounds and Lauri Markkanen had 15 points. Cedi Osman scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and Jarrett Allen contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland.
Rajon Rondo had 11 points in 17 minutes in his team debut as the Cavaliers snapped their string of seven straight losses in Portland.
Norman Powell scored 19 points and Robert Covington added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who have lost six of their past seven games and 16 of their last 20.
