Giannis Antetokounmpo returns from injury to lead Bucks to easy win over Bulls
McRae stars as Wizards stun Heat; T-Wolves outlast Nets to end losing run; Booker and Oubre lead Suns past Blazers
Tuesday 31 December 2019 07:53, UK
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his return from a back injury as the Milwaukee Bucks cruised to a 123-102 win over the host Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
Milwaukee Bucks 123-102 Chicago Bulls
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his return from a back injury as the Milwaukee Bucks cruised to a 123-102 win over the host Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
Khris Middleton finished with a team-high 25 points for Milwaukee, who won their third straight game. Guard Eric Bledsoe returned from a right leg injury and scored 15 points in 16 minutes of limited action.
Bulls guard Zach LaVine scored a team-high 19 points despite missing 16-of-23 shots. Lauri Markkanen added 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-9 from three-point range, and Wendell Carter Jr notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.
The Bucks pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulls 40-25 to increase their lead to 95-77. Milwaukee shot an incredible 71.4 per cent (15-of-21) during the quarter.
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Former Chicago center Robin Lopez keyed an 8-0 run when he made a lay-up with 2:39 left in the third quarter. George Hill and Ersan Ilyasova followed with back-to-back three-pointers to stretch the lead to 18 points.
The Bulls failed to mount a fourth-quarter comeback as they were outscored 28-25 in the final period.
Miami Heat 105-123 Washington Wizards
Jordan McRae scored 29 points and Garrison Mathews added 28 points to help the host Washington Wizards cool off the Miami Heat with a 123-105 victory.
Ian Mahinmi added a career-high 25 points - including 2 of 3 on three-pointers - for the Wizards. Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 27 points, and Bam Adebayo added 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. The defeat snapped Miami's five-game winning streak, which had been the league's longest.
The Wizards, who entered the game having lost nine of 11 games, took control in the second quarter when Mathews had 20 points.
Washington overcame the absences of seven injured players, including two-time All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal (sore right knee), who leads the team in scoring (27.8 points) and assists (6.7).
Washington extended their lead to 18 points with 4:23 left in the third quarter on a three-pointer by Isaiah Thomas. Miami answered with a 12-0 run, cutting the deficit to 90-81 entering the fourth quarter. The Wizards then played a strong final period to seal the win.
Brooklyn Nets 115-122 Minnesota Timberwolves (OT)
Shabazz Napier scored eight of his season-high 24 points in overtime as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a nine-game home losing streak with a 122-115 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Minneapolis.
After the Wolves rallied down the stretch of regulation, Napier hit three clutch shots in the extra session. His lay-up with four minutes left put Minnesota up 107-105 and his fadeaway with 1:39 left pushed Minnesota's lead to 115-109.
Spencer Dinwiddie's dunk got the Nets within 117-113 with a minute remaining but Napier secured Minnesota's first home win since November 13 by hitting a three-pointer with 42.4 seconds left and a free throw with 22.8 seconds left to push the lead to 121-113.
Napier shot 8-of-18, hit three three-pointers and handed out eight assists as Minnesota beat the Nets for the second time in overtime this season. Minnesota also won for only the second time in their last 14 games overall with both wins coming in overtime.
Rookie Jarrett Culver added a career-high 21 points for the Wolves, who made 7-of-10 shots in overtime and shot 40.4 per cent overall. Keita Bates-Diop added 15, Robert Covington contributed 14 while Gorgui Dieng collected 11 points and 20 rebounds while starting in place of Karl-Anthony Towns (sprained left knee) for the seventh straight game.
Dinwiddie led all scorers with 36 points on 12-of-31 shooting as the Nets blew a five-point lead in the final two-plus minutes of regulation and lost their third straight game. Joe Harris added 19 points for Brooklyn, who shot 40.4 per cent and fell to 12-9 without Kyrie Irving (right shoulder impingement).
Phoenix Suns 122-116 Portland Trail Blazers
Devin Booker registered 33 points, seven assists and six rebounds to help the Phoenix Suns rally to a 122-116 road victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Kelly Oubre Jr made a career-best seven three-pointers while scoring 29 points as the Suns snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Trail Blazers. Phoenix trailed by 19 after one quarter but outscored the Trail Blazers 39-27 in the decisive fourth quarter.
Ricky Rubio recorded 18 points and 13 assists, Mikal Bridges scored 13 points and Aron Baynes added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Suns, who have won two in a row after an eight-game losing streak. Deandre Ayton had six points and 12 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench after missing the previous five games due to an ankle injury.
Damian Lillard had 33 points and seven assists, and CJ McCollum contributed 25 points and six assists for Portland, who lost their fourth straight game. Hassan Whiteside recorded 16 points, 22 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Trail Blazers.
Phoenix scored seven of the game's first nine points before the Trail Blazers scored the next 14. The Suns never led again until Ayton's tip-in with 2:48 left that gave them a 109-108 advantage.
Rubio and Booker followed with jumpers to give Phoenix a five-point lead with 1:51 remaining. Portland later pulled within 115-113 on Lillard's three-point play with 1:13 left. However, Oubre's seventh three-pointer provided the Suns with a 120-114 advantage with 44.4 seconds remaining.
Booker finished off a 15-of-15 effort from the free-throw line by making two with 15.7 seconds left to seal it.
Detroit Pistons 81-104 Utah Jazz
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points as the Utah Jazz overcame a sluggish start to pull away from the Detroit Pistons 104-81 in Salt Lake City.
Jordan Clarkson, playing in his third game since being acquired from Cleveland, supplied 20 points off the Utah bench. Bojan Bogdanovic contributed 17 points, and Rudy Gobert racked up 13 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks for the Jazz, who have won three in a row and eight of nine.
Derrick Rose led Detroit, who have lost seven of their past eight, with 20 points off the bench. Andre Drummond had 15 points, 13 rebounds, five steals, three blocks and three assists but also committed seven turnovers. Svi Mykhailiuk contributed 13 points and Christian Wood added 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Pistons never trailed by more than three points the first half and led 40-39 at half time. The Jazz's total was the lowest amount Detroit has allowed in a first half this season.
Mitchell scored the first points of the second half to give Utah club the lead. Royce O'Neale hit a three-pointer and Gobert dunked as the Jazz jumped ahead 50-42. Joe Ingles then made a mid-range shot and a transition three-pointer for a 13-point lead. Clarkson hit a pair of treys later in the quarter and Utah carried a 68-58 lead into the fourth.
A Rose basket with 10:46 remaining cut the Jazz's lead to seven. Utah quickly doubled that with a 7-0 spurt, capped by a Bogdanovic three-pointer, ensuring there was no way back for Detroit.
Atlanta Hawks 101-93 Orlando Magic
Brandon Goodwin scored a career-high 21 points and helped the Atlanta Hawks come back from an 18-point deficit to end their 10-game losing streak with a 101-93 road win over the Orlando Magic.
Goodwin, playing only his fifth game of the season on a two-way contract, shot 7-for-11 from the field, 3-for-4 of three-point attempts, and had six assists. His previous best was five points. Goodwin was averaging 19.1 points for the G League's College Park Skyhawks and had totalled only five points in two games over the last week since being activated.
Atlanta's Alex Len added 18 points and 12 rebounds, Kevin Huerter scored 19 and rookie De'Andre Hunter scored 16. Orlando were led by Nikola Vucevic with 27 points. Evan Fournier added 22 points, DJ Augustin scored 17 and Jonathan Isaac had 13 points and nine rebounds.
Atlanta had a 25-21 lead after the first quarter, but Orlando outscored the Hawks 36-22 in the second quarter to take a 57-47 lead into the half. The Hawks began to chip away in the third quarter tied the game at 72-72 on a John Collins basket with 33 seconds left, then regained the lead when Len closed the quarter with a slam dunk for a 74-72 lead to start the fourth quarter.
