On Sunday, Damian Lillard scored 31 points and had 16 assists, while Bobby Portis contributed 31 points and 10 rebounds, guiding Milwaukee to a 140-129 win over the Phoenix Suns. The Bucks made 24 3-pointers and managed to win despite the absence of star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo, who usually averages 30.8 points and 11.2 rebounds, skipped the game due to left hamstring soreness. This marked only his fourth absence of the season and the first one since March 4, when he was out with Achilles tendinitis.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers explained, “It’s not an injury, we were just concerned a little bit. Plus, when you look at the schedule, you have one, two, three, four, five days off. We planted it in him and he had to do it. We’re happy that he decided to do it.”
At the end of the third quarter, Phoenix was behind 109-94, but managed to close the gap to 122-115. With 6:17 left, Lillard's 3-pointer put Milwaukee in the lead 134-120.
Lillard stated, “I just wanted to come out and be in attack mode… I didn’t really think to myself I’m going to have to score a bunch of points. I just knew I had to be a problem for the defense.” He marked a historic achievement as the first Bucks player with a 30-point, 15-assist game.
In his first game back after missing 16 games due to a sprained left ankle, Khris Middleton contributed 22 points for Milwaukee. The team made 24 of 41 3-pointers, with Portis and Malik Beasley hitting five each.
Speaking about Middleton’s return, Lillard commented, “I thought it was huge, especially with Giannis being out… Any time you’re down your best player and then you add another weapon to a team that’s already down, it’s a pick-me-up just because we’re excited to have him back.”
Bradley Beal scored 28 points, Grayson Allen had 25 points, and Devin Booker added 23 for Phoenix.
In the first half, Milwaukee made 18 3-pointers, matching the NBA record for 3-pointers in the opening half previously held by the Suns and Utah Jazz.
Suns coach Frank Vogel acknowledged, “They changed their team, obviously, with Giannis not being in there, and Dame is an elite attacker that requires you to really extend your defense on him. The risk in that is exposing the 3-point line.”
Portis came off the bench and scored 25 first-half points, making 10 of 13 shots, including 5 of 5 from beyond the arc, in just under 13 minutes.
Allen’s 3-pointer concluded an 11-point run, bringing the Suns within 93-83 with just over 4 ½ minutes remaining in the third quarter. Lillard's 3-pointer at the edge of the logo just before the buzzer put Milwaukee in the lead 109-94 entering the final period.
Milwaukee is now 1 ½ games ahead of Cleveland for the second-best record in the East. Phoenix is in sixth place in the West, a half-game ahead of Sacramento and a game in front of Dallas.
MAVERICKS 107, NUGGETS 105
In a thrilling final 26 seconds, Kyrie Irving made a running left-handed shot at the buzzer, securing a 107-105 victory for Dallas over Denver.
Despite being 13 points down midway through the fourth quarter, the Nuggets rallied and took the lead with Jamal Murray’s tiebreaking 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining.
In response to this, Luka Doncic swiftly answered on the inbounds pass after a timeout, scoring from several feet behind the arc to tie the game at 105-105.
After Murray missed a jump shot in the last moments, Dallas called for a break. Irving, who is right-handed, received the pass, dribbled with his left hand while Jokic chased him, and made the shot from about 20 feet away.
Denver's five-game winning streak on the road was ended. They had won all five games by ten or more points, which had never happened in the history of the franchise.
MAGIC 111, RAPTORS 96
ORLANDO, Fla. — Paolo Banchero scored 29 points to help Orlando Magic pull away from Toronto, giving the Raptors their seventh consecutive loss.
Franz Wagner contributed 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Orlando, and his brother, Moritz, scored 14 points. The Magic's performance has improved with 8 wins in their last 10 games.
Jordan Nwora was the top scorer for the injury-plagued Raptors with 18 points, with 12 of them coming in a strong burst during the third quarter. Gary Trent Jr. scored 15 points, while Immanuel Quickley and Bruce Brown each had 12 points.
Despite scoring 37 fast-break points and losing to the Magic on Friday night, the Raptors, who are the leaders in fast-break points in the NBA, were limited to only 16. They also went 8 for 31 from the 3-point range and committed 18 turnovers.
CELTICS 130, WIZARDS 104
WASHINGTON — Sam Hauser scored a career-high 30 points and made a total of 10 3-pointers to lead the undermanned Boston to victory over Washington.
Jayson Tatum also scored 30 points with six 3-pointers as the leading Celtics made 24 shots from beyond the arc in a game where they never fell behind despite the absence of three starters.
In the first of back-to-back games — with a game against Detroit on Monday — Derrick White (left hand sprain) and Jaylen Brown (right ankle sprain) joined Kristaps Porzingis (right hamstring strain) among the ranks of injured Boston players.
Tatum also had been uncertain due to an ankle problem before Wednesday. Instead, he played his 31st consecutive game, and Hauser, making his 16th career start, helped Boston achieve 81 points before halftime and a lead that reached 36 points in the third quarter.
Hauser made 10 out of 13 shots from long range, and Boston made 17 out of 28 3-point attempts in the first half. The Celtics had a 48% success rate from beyond the arc despite substituting their starters midway through the third quarter.
HEAT 104, PISTONS 101
DETROIT — Bam Adebayo hit a 3-pointer at the last moment to secure a victory for Miami over Detroit.
Cade Cunningham missed a 3-pointer for Detroit with 9 seconds left, and Terry Rozier hurried up the court with the rebound. Unable to reach the basket, he passed the ball to Adebayo who made his third 3-pointer in the last three games.
Duncan Robinson achieved a season best with 30 points for Miami, making 10 out of 15 shots. Adebayo achieved 20 points and 17 rebounds in the Heat's second win over the Pistons in three days.
Robinson made his 1,000th career 3-pointer in the first quarter. He reached this milestone in 343 games, breaking the NBA record of 350 set by Buddy Hield.
HAWKS 110, CLIPPERS 93
LOS ANGELES — Dejounte Murray scored 21 points, while De’Andre Hunter contributed 20, helping the Atlanta Hawks end their three-game losing streak by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jalen Johnson achieved 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Clint Capela added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks.
Murray made five 3-pointers, marking the fifth consecutive game in which he made at least four shots from beyond the arc. The Hawks made 17 out of 34 3-pointers after reaching a season-high of 20 in Friday night’s loss at Utah.
Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points and led the Clippers, while Paul George had 26. Los Angeles has lost four of its last five games and is currently in fourth place in the Western Conference.
SPURS 122, NETS 115, OT
SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama scored 33 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs overcame 31 points by Cam Thomas to beat Brooklyn in overtime.
Wembanyama also contributed seven assists and seven blocks while achieving his 36th double-double in 60 games. The 7-foot-4 rookie center has five games with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, and five assists.
Wembanyama performed an alley-oop dunk and then blocked Dennis Schroder’s layup attempt, preserving San Antonio’s 116-115 lead with 38 seconds left.
Schroder finished with 19 points and Mikal Bridges contributed 14 points, with three coming in a low-scoring overtime.
Keldon Johnson’s 3-pointer with 64 seconds left in regulation put the Spurs ahead 110-107. Johnson’s 3 capped a 17-4 run, including four consecutive points from Wembanyama to tie the game.
