Giannis Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee Bucks to 13th straight win
AD and LeBron lead Lakers past Jazz; Mavs top T-Wolves for ninth win in past 10 games; Celtics hand Heat heavy loss
Thursday 5 December 2019 07:55, UK
Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 35 points in 28 minutes as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks extended their winning streak to 13 games by rolling past the Detroit Pistons 127-103 on Wednesday night.
Milwaukee Bucks 127-103 Detroit Pistons
Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 35 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 28 minutes as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks extended their winning streak to 13 games by rolling past the Detroit Pistons 127-103 on Wednesday night.
Khris Middleton had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Eric Bledsoe contributed 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. Robin Lopez and Ersan Ilyasova each had 10 points off the bench for the Bucks.
Andre Drummond led the Pistons with 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Langston Galloway scored 20 points, and Blake Griffin had 16 points and 10 rebounds but shot just 4-for-17 from the field. Derrick Rose added 14 points.
Antetokounmpo had 18 points and eight rebounds by halftime as the Bucks grabbed a 59-48 lead. Detroit were down double digits despite finishing the half on a 9-2 run. Milwaukee had outscored Detroit 28-11 earlier in the quarter to take their biggest lead at 57-39.
Antetokounmpo knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key with 4:23 left in the third. That began a Milwaukee outburst that extended the lead to 20 at 92-72. Middleton finished it off with a baseline shot with 41.7 seconds left in the quarter.
Los Angeles Lakers 121-96 Utah Jazz
Anthony Davis scored 26 points and LeBron James added 20 points as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers got off to a fast start and trounced the Utah Jazz 121-96.
James, who leads the NBA in assists, added 12 more to his season total. He played 29 minutes while Davis played 26 after they each saw 37 minutes in Tuesday night's road win in Denver. The Lakers have won all three of their back-to-back sets of games this season.
Donovan Mitchell had 29 points, and Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Jazz lost at home for just the second time in 10 games. Bojan Bogdanovic had 23 points for Utah.
The Lakers trailed by eight points early in the first quarter, but they refused to let the hole get any deeper. They turned the game around quickly to lead by as many as 10 in the opening quarter before pushing their margin to 65-47 at half-time.
The Lakers led by as many as 25 midway through the fourth quarter before coach Frank Vogel started to unload his bench with 4:44 remaining.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 14 for the Lakers, while Kyle Kuzma scored 13 in his return to Utah, where he played in college. Rajon Rondo contributed 14 points and 12 assists for Los Angeles.
Minnesota Timberwolves 114-121 Dallas Mavericks
Red-hot shooting from three-point range in the fourth quarter powered the Dallas Mavericks to their ninth win in the last 10 games as they outpaced the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 121-114.
After shooting just 4-for-26 from deep in the first three quarters, Dallas warmed up in the fourth quarter. Four Mavericks hit three-pointers in succession over a critical stretch, going from trailing by two points to leading by 10. Dwight Powell buoyed Dallas before the late-game push, scoring 24 points.
Minnesota defended second-year sensation Luka Doncic well for most of the night, forcing him into five turnovers. But with a made three-pointer and three free throws after drawing a foul behind the arc, Doncic scored a chunk of his 22 points at a crucial juncture.
Doncic air-balled another long-range attempt in the final two minutes, but Kristaps Porzingis caught the miss and put down a dunk that slammed the door on Minnesota's attempted. Porzingis finished with 19 points.
Minnesota stormed back from a double-digit deficit in the first quarter and were led throughout the middle quarters by Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, who finished with 26 points each. Towns flirted with a triple-double, adding nine rebounds and eight assists. Robert Covington added 22 points for the Timberwolves.
Miami Heat 93-112 Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half and Kemba Walker added 28 as the Boston Celtics cruised past the visiting Miami Heat 112-93.
Jayson Tatum had 19 points and Robert Williams III came up with 10 rebounds as the Celtics won for the fourth time in their last five games.
Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 37 points, and Kelly Olynyk chipped in 12 for the Heat, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Up by eight to begin the third quarter, the Celtics stretched their lead to 16 points when Brown finished an alley-oop made it 68-52 with 6:31 to go. Butler drained a pair of three-pointers and had 10 points as the Heat responded with a 14-3 run to get within 71-66 with 2:32 remaining.
Brown restored order for Boston with back-to-back treys as the Celtics would enter the fourth up 82-69. A Carsen Edwards three-pointer gave Boston the lead by 20, 89-69, with 10:10 left in the game, and the Celtics maintained their double-digit lead the rest of the way to close out the win.
Sacramento Kings 116-127 Portland Trail Blazers
CJ McCollum scored 33 points and the Portland Trail Blazers pulled away in the final quarter to beat the Sacramento Kings 127-116.
Hassan Whiteside added 22 points and 16 rebounds, as well as a career-high seven assists. Damian Lillard had 24 points and 10 assists in Portland's third straight win at the Moda Center.
Carmelo Anthony finished with 20 points, his fourth game with 20 or more in seven games with the Blazers. Richaun Holmes had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings.
Kent Bazemore's corner three-pointer gave the Blazers a 108-101 lead early in the final quarter. Lillard's 31-footer made it 113-105 with 6:46 left. Bazemore had another triple that gave the Blazers their biggest lead of the game to that point, 119-108 with 4:28 remaining.
Brooklyn Nets 130-118 Atlanta Hawks
Veteran Garrett Temple tallied 27 points, one of four Brooklyn players to score 20 or more, as the visiting Nets defeated the Atlanta Hawks 130-118.
Temple scored his season-high on 10-for-16 shooting, and was 6-for-9 from the perimeter. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 24 points and added six rebounds and five assists, former Atlanta player Taurean Prince scored 23 and Jarrett Allen added 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Atlanta were led by Trae Young with 39 points and 10 rebounds. Young shot 13-for-23 from the field and made five three-pointers. Rookie Cam Reddish scored a career-high 25 points and center Damian Jones set a career-high in scoring for the second straight game with 20.
The fourth quarter was a shootout, with Brooklyn outscoring Atlanta 39-36. Temple and Dinwiddie were able to thwart any potential Atlanta rally. Dinwiddie drove for a basket and Temple followed with a dunk to put the Nets up by 13 points with 5:50 to play. Atlanta never got any closer than 12 points.
Phoenix Suns 114-128 Orlando Magic
Aaron Gordon scored a season-high 32 points and hit all five of his three-point attempts as the host Orlando Magic continued their offensive roll with a 128-114 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Reserve Terrence Ross had 22 points, Evan Fournier had 21 points and Markelle Fultz added 13 points for Orlando. The Magic posted a season-high point total for the second night in a row after a 127-120 victory at Washington on Tuesday.
Frank Kaminsky had a season-high 23 points and Devin Booker put up 17 points for Phoenix, who have lost four of their last five games. Cheick Diallo had 16 points, Mikal Bridges had 15 and Cameron Johnson had 12 for the Suns.
Gordon's three-pointer with 49.6 seconds remaining in the third quarter gave the Magic a 103-81 lead, which they stretched to 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Indiana Pacers 107-100 Oklahoma City Thunder
TJ Warren scored 24 points to lead the Indianapolis Pacers to a 107-100 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Warren was one of seven Pacers to finish in double figures as Indiana continued the balanced scoring that has helped them seven of their past eight games.
While Warren's scoring was a big help, his rebound in the closing minute helped put the game away. Oklahoma City's Chris Paul drove and kicked out to Terrance Ferguson for a potential game-tying three-pointer in the last 20 seconds but the short shot bounced off the rim and Warren came down with the rebound.
He was fouled, made both free throws with 13.2 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and Indiana closed out the win.
Three former Thunder players were among those scoring in double figures for the Pacers - Domantas Sabonis (17 points), Doug McDermott (14 off the bench) and Jeremy Lamb with 13. Steven Adams led the way for Oklahoma City with 20 points, making all eight of his shots from the field. Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schroder each had 18 points.
Memphis Grizzlies 99-106 Chicago Bulls
Zach LaVine scored 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting and the Chicago Bulls never trailed during a 106-99 win over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.
Wendell Carter Jr scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season. Lauri Markkanen finished with 15 points, and Tomas Satoransky added 13 to go along with eight assists.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 32 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies. Jae Crowder and Jaren Jackson Jr finished with 15 points apiece as Memphis lost for the eighth time in their past nine games. The Bulls won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Memphis opened the fourth quarter on a 23-10 run to cut the deficit to 88-87 with 4:29 remaining. Crowder hit a three-pointer from the right corner to draw the Grizzlies within a point and prompt a full timeout by the Bulls.
But Chicago responded with eight straight points to push the lead back to 96-87. LaVine hit a three-pointer and a long jump shot, and Kris Dunn drained a three-pointer to cap the run.
Golden State Warriors 91-106 Charlotte Hornets
Devonte' Graham matched a single-game franchise record with 10 three-pointers and racked up 33 points as the Charlotte Hornets defeated the visiting Golden State Warriors 106-91.
Backcourt mate Terry Rozier added 25 points, as the Hornets won for just the third time in the last 10 games. It marked the first time since Graham joined the starting line-up that he and Rozier each reached the 20-point mark in the second game.
Another sterling second half paid off for the Hornets. They scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to stretch their lead to 18 points, finishing a 26-8 run across a nine-minute stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters.
D'Angelo Russell, returning from a nine-game absence due to a thumb injury, had 18 points for the Warriors. Eric Paschall added 16 and Alec Burks had 15.
The Hornets led 58-54 at half-time, hitting 11-of-22 shots from three-point range. Golden State pulled ahead early in the third quarter before the Hornets pulled away. Charlotte outscored the Warriors 18-8 across the last seven minutes of the quarter.
