NBA: Bucks whip Pelicans without star, win 16th straight

Eric Bledsoe scored 29 points as the host Milwaukee Bucks won their 16th consecutive game despite the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, routing the New Orleans Pelicans, 127-112, on Wednesday night.

Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA MVP, sat out the game because of a sore quad tendon and three teammates joined Bledsoe in double figures. Khris Middleton scored 24, Ersan Ilyasova added 18 and George Hill had 13.

The Bucks, who are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the best record in the league (22-3), matched their longest winning streak since winning 16 in a row over two seasons in 1973.

JJ Redick scored 31, Brandon Ingram had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Jrue Holiday scored 21 and rookie Jaxson Hayes had 12 points to lead the Pelicans, who lost their 10th game in a row.

The Pelicans, who had made just 11 of 70 3-pointers in their last two games, hit 16 of 45 on Wednesday. But they shot just 44.3 percent (39 of 88) overall, while Milwaukee shot 53.8 percent (50 of 93) from the floor.

The Bucks led, 69-46, at halftime, but the Pelicans started chipping away in the third quarter.

They crept within 95-82 on rookie Nickeil Alexander-Walker's 3-pointer with 2:43 left in the period.

Sterling Brown scored five points as Milwaukee rebuilt the lead to 105-86 at the end of the quarter.

Hill's basket gave Milwaukee a 111-88 lead early in the fourth quarter and they kept New Orleans at a safe distance the rest of the way.

Ingram, the Pelicans' leading scorer with an average of 24.9 points per game, went to the bench after committing his third foul with 5:45 left in the first quarter. The Bucks had a 25-12 lead.

The lead grew to 35-12 before Redick made a basket for New Orleans. Holiday scored the final six points, leaving Milwaukee with a 35-20 lead at the end of the period.

The Pelicans cut the lead to 11 early in the second quarter, but the Bucks built it to as many as 28 points before taking a 69-46 halftime lead.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Greek Freak's 50 powers Bucks past Jazz

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 50 points, collected 14 rebounds and dished out six assists to help the Milwaukee Bucks hold on for a 122-118 win over the visiting Utah Jazz on Monday night.

Wesley Matthews added 19 points and Eric Bledsoe chipped in 13 for the Bucks, who won for the 13th time in 14 games and avenged their only loss during that stretch.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 24 points and Donovan Mitchell added 20 for the Jazz.

Utah rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and cut Milwaukee's lead to 120-118 on Mitchell's layup with 43.8 seconds remaining. The Jazz had a chance to tie, but Brook Lopez blocked another layup attempt from Mitchell with 4.4 seconds left. Pat Connaughton hit a pair of free throws to seal the victory.

Utah had 18 assists on 20 made first-half baskets.

Bogdanovic led the way, scoring 11 points in the second quarter. He helped the Jazz lead by as many as 13 points before halftime. His final basket of the quarter gave Utah a 57-45 advantage.

The Bucks rallied in the third quarter behind hot shooting from Antetokounmpo. He scored four baskets and assisted on another to fuel a 15-2 run. The reigning NBA MVP punctuated the rally with a pair of free throws to put ahead Milwaukee, 78-77.

Antetokounmpo then sparked a 12-0 run to give the Bucks a 92-83 advantage early in the fourth quarter. He made a pair of baskets and assisted two others.

Anteokounmpo made his presence felt all over the floor during the third quarter, when he totaled 18 points, five rebounds and five assists. His effort helped the Bucks score 42 points that quarter.

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NBA: Giannis' triple-double leads Bucks past Blazers

Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 24 points, 19 rebounds and a career-high 15 assists as the host Milwaukee Bucks posted a 137-129 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

The triple-double was the second of the season for Antetokounmpo, who collected 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in Milwaukee's 117-111 win at Houston on Oct. 24.

Eric Bledsoe scored 30 points and Pat Connaughton added a season-high 18 to help the Bucks notch their season-high sixth straight win and 10th in 11 outings. The point total was a season best for Milwaukee.

CJ McCollum highlighted his 37-point performance by making five 3-pointers, and Skal Labissiere added 22 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for the Trail Blazers, who were without four-time All-Star Damian Lillard (back) for the second consecutive contest.

Carmelo Anthony scored 10 of his 18 points in the first half while playing in his second game with Portland after a year away from the NBA.

Labissiere was credited with a layup following a goaltending call on Antetokounmpo before sinking a pair of jumpers as Portland closed to within four at 114-110.

McCollum added a pair of jumpers to bring the Trail Blazers within two, but Brook Lopez and Wesley Matthews each drained a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to build the lead back to eight with 6:30 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Antetokounmpo made a pair of baskets and Bledsoe and Donte DiVincenzo added a pair of layups to push Milwaukee's lead to 131-119 just under two minutes later.

DiVincenzo received a lead pass from Antetokounmpo, marking the latter's 15th assist of the night to eclipse his previous high set against Brooklyn on March 13, 2016.

Milwaukee opened the contest by making its first seven shots -- including three from 3-point range -- to seize a 17-6 lead before Portland answered with a 12-2 run of its own.

The Bucks bounced back as all nine players found the scoresheet to lift the team to a 37-27 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Milwaukee boosted its advantage to 19 points midway into the second quarter and claimed a 72-58 lead at intermission, marking an NBA-best seventh time that it has scored at least 70 points in a half.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Antetokounmpo's double-double helps Bucks beat Hawks

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 11 rebounds, and paced the visiting Milwaukee Bucks to a 135-127 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

It was the ninth time that Antetokounmpo has had 30 points and 10 rebounds in a game, best in the league. He has accomplished the feat in eight of his last nine games. Antetokounmpo was 12-for-17 from the field, but only 1-for-6 on 3-pointers.

The Bucks have won five straight, nine of their last 10, and completed the road trip with a 3-0 mark. Milwaukee has won eight of its last nine against the Hawks.

Eric Bledsoe added 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Bucks. It fell just short of his season high of 31.

Atlanta tried to rally in the fourth quarter by scoring 44 points. The Hawks used a 13-1 run to cut Milwaukee's lead to 126-119 with 2:10 left on a basket by DeAndre Bembry. But Milwaukee's Sterling Brown emerged from a timeout to hit a 3-pointer and re-establish the double-digit lead. The Hawks never again got closer than seven.

The loss was the fourth straight for Atlanta, which returned home after going 1-4 on a West Coast road trip.

Atlanta was led by rookie De'Andre Hunter, who scored a career-high 27 points -- nine more than his previous best -- and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. He was perfect on three 3-point field goals.

Trae Young added 25 points and eight assists and Cam Reddish scored a career-high 17 points.

Milwaukee wasted an early 10-point lead but led 34-26 after one quarter. Atlanta, behind rookies Hunter and Reddish, paced the Hawks to a 61-58 halftime lead. Milwaukee scored 38 points in the third quarter for a 96-83 lead.

Milwaukee completes a back-to-back at home on Thursday against Portland. Atlanta plays again on Friday when the Hawks face Detroit.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Bucks rally past Lakers, clinch playoff berth

Eric Bledsoe converted a 3-point play with 2:25 remaining to give Milwaukee the lead for good, and the visiting Bucks scored 15 of the game's final 17 points to post a 131-120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

The win allowed Milwaukee to become the first NBA team to clinch a playoff berth this season.

Bledsoe finished with 31 points, and Giannis Antetokounmpo chipped in with 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Bucks, who won their seventh straight.

LeBron James had 31 points and 10 assists for the Lakers, who have followed each of their past 6 wins with a loss.

In a fourth quarter that featured 7 lead changes and 6 ties, James gave the Lakers their last lead at 118-116 by sinking a 3-pointer with 3:11 left.

The Bucks dominated the rest of the game.

After Bledsoe's 3-point play, Malcolm Brogdon expanded Milwaukee's lead with 2 free throws with 1:54 to play and a 3-pointer 13 seconds later, and the Bucks held on from there.

Seven Bucks scored in double figures in a balanced attack, with Brogdon (21 points), Khris Middleton (18), Ersan Ilyasova (12), Brook Lopez (11) and Nikola Mirotic (11) joining Bledsoe and Antetokounmpo in that category.

Bledsoe hit 12 of his 24 shots and also found time for 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

Brandon Ingram shot 13 of 21 and totaled 31 points to match James' team-high figure for the Lakers, who were playing the opener of a back-to-back set. They visit Phoenix on Saturday.

Rajon Rondo had 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and Kyle Kuzma contributed 12 points for Los Angeles, which was outshot from the floor 51.6 percent to 47.9 percent.

Both teams made big runs in the first 3 quarters, helping produce a one-point game heading to the fourth.

Milwaukee led for most of the first half before the Lakers closed the second period with a 13-2 burst that produced a 65-59 advantage at the break.

Kuzma and James had two hoops in the run, which was capped by a Reggie Bullock 3-pointer.

The Lakers went on to lead by as many as 12 in the third period, going up 79-67 on a 3-point play by James with 7:09 left in the quarter.

The Bucks countered with a 16-3 flurry that put them back on top, with Bledsoe contributing 9 points and Pat Connaughton 5.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Antetokounmpo, Bucks hold off Celtics

While Giannis Antetokounmpo got off to a slow start, his Milwaukee teammates used their size and 3-point shooting to build a 26-point first-half advantage, and the visiting Bucks went on to beat the Boston Celtics 120-107 on Friday night.

Antetokounmpo took only four first-half field-goal attempts and scored 11 points before the break. He finished with 30 points on 8-for-13 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.

Khris Middleton added 21 points and Eric Bledsoe had 16 for the Bucks.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 21 points off the bench. Jayson Tatum finished with 20 points despite missing 10 of 15 shots from the field.

Milwaukee's lead was tenuous throughout the third quarter as Boston cut its deficit to single digits.

But each time Boston got close, Milwaukee turned to Antetokounmpo, Middleton or Snell.

The Bucks seemed in total control as they extended their lead to 18 with 9:20 left on a Snell jumper that made the score 100-82. A 10-3 spurt once again gave Boston a chance to cut the deficit to 10, but Gordon Hayward missed a free throw.

Eric Bledsoe made the Celtics pay, scoring five straight points as Milwaukee pushed the lead back to 108-94.

The Celtics jumped out to a 10-1 lead with Tatum and Semi Ojeleye each scoring five early points. The Bucks took control quickly going on a 16-0 run.

A Kyrie Irving 3-pointer made the score 19-14, but then Milwaukee closed the quarter on a 16-8 run to go up 35-22.

Boston was playing without Al Horford, Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes. The Bucks out-rebounded the Celtics in the first half, 31-13, including grabbing nine on the offensive glass.

The Celtics finished with 36 rebounds. The Bucks had 55.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Antetokounmpo drops career-high 44 in Bucks' rout

Giannis Antetokounmpo matched a career-high 44 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and had eight assists on Friday as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks led wire-to-wire and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-102.

Antetokounmpo was coming off his lowest scoring game of the season -- 12 in a loss Wednesday to Indiana. On Friday, he went 14-for-19 from the field and made 16 of 21 free-throw attempts.

Cleveland, which had trailed 94-80 early in the fourth, cut the deficit to 102-97 with 4:20 to go. But the Bucks went on a 9-2 run to put the game out of reach.

Brook Lopez scored 19 on 7-for-15 from the field and Eric Bledsoe added 16 points for the Bucks.

For the second time in a week Milwaukee and Cleveland played, and the Bucks had to again jump out to a big lead and hold on for the win.

On Monday, the Bucks led by 18 at halftime and by as many as 26 in the second. Cleveland cut the deficit to 13 before faltering in a 108-92 loss.

Antetokounmpo did not play in Monday's game because of a sore neck. Milwaukee starters Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon sat out Friday's game.

Tony Snell, getting the start for Brogdon, connected early on two 3-pointers -- his only points of the game -- as Milwaukee scored the game's first nine points.

Rodney Hood finally got the Cavs on the board with a pair of free throws with just under nine minutes to go in the quarter. Cleveland did not score its first field goal until a Hood tip-in at the 7:01 mark -- but by then, Milwaukee already had built a double-digit lead.

The Bucks, who came into the game averaging 40 3-point shots per game, made 5 of 11 in the first quarter. Milwaukee's defense held Cleveland to just 27.7 percent from the field as the Bucks took a 27-16 lead after one.

The Bucks extended the lead to 15 on a Lopez 3-point jumper in the second period. Cleveland would slice the lead to seven at 44-37 on a Jordan Clarkson 3, but that's the closest the Cavaliers would get late in the fourth.

Clarkson led the Cavaliers with 23 points off the bench. Hood added 19 for Cleveland.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Bucks roll past Cavs despite missing star player

Eric Bledsoe had 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 108-92 win on Monday over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.

Malcolm Brogdon added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Bucks. Khris Middleton chipped in with 16 as the Bucks connected on 15 of 36 3-point attempts.

The Bucks were playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo because of a sore neck. Antetokounmpo missed one other game this season, a Bucks' victory over Toronto on Oct. 29.

Ersan Ilyasova got the start for Antetokounmpo and totaled nine points and seven rebounds.

Larry Nance Jr. led the Cavs with 16 points and rookie Collin Sexton added 15. Tristan Thompson, who had 16 double-doubles coming into the game, finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

After trailing by 22 in the fourth quarter, Cleveland cut the deficit to 98-87 on a jumper by Sexton with under three minutes left.

Ilyasova answered with two free throws and Middleton added a short jumper to give the Bucks some breathing room.

Milwaukee took control early, surging to a 15-6 lead on the strength of five straight points from Bledsoe and a 27-foot 3-pointer from Middleton.

Sterling Brown scored eight first-quarter points off the bench to spark the Bucks to a 31-18 lead after the first period.

The Cavs scored the first seven of the second period, cutting the Milwaukee lead to 31-25. George Hill, traded last week from Cleveland to Milwaukee, finally got the Bucks on the board in the second with a layup, which ignited a 10-2 spurt to put the Bucks up 41-27.

Bledsoe hit two 3s, Lopez connected on another and the lead was 51-30 with 5:20 remaining in the half.

Milwaukee is now 4-0 on the second game of back-to-backs this season. The Bucks were coming off an impressive road win on Sunday over the Toronto Raptors, the team with the best record in the NBA.

The two teams play again on Friday night in Cleveland.

--Field Level Media

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Perfect Bucks use balance to hand Raptors first loss

The host Milwaukee Bucks held the Toronto Raptors without a field goal for the first 4:11 of the second quarter Monday night, establishing an early lead before pulling away for a 124-109 victory in a battle of unbeaten teams missing their Most Valuable Player candidates.

The Bucks improved to 7-0 despite the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was recovering from a concussion, and took advantage of the Raptors' decision to rest their star, Kawhi Leonard.

Milwaukee filled Antetokounmpo's void with balanced scoring, placing seven players in double figures, led by Ersan Ilyasova's 19.

Serge Ibaka had a season-high 30 for the Raptors, who fell to 6-1.

After a tight first quarter, the Bucks ran off to a 10-point lead with a 9-1 run to open the second period. Ilyasova and John Henson had dunks in the burst.

The Raptors didn't have a field goal in the second period until Danny Green buried a 3-pointer with 7:49 left in the half, as Toronto closed the double-digit lead to 42-35. But the Raptors never caught up.

Milwaukee went on to lead by nine at halftime and 15 at the end of three quarters before coasting home, topping 100 points for the seventh consecutive game.

Ilyasova finished with his first double-double of the season, complementing his season-best point total with 10 rebounds.

He got plenty of support from double-figure scorers Malcolm Brogdon (17), Eric Bledsoe (17), Khris Middleton (14), Donte DiVincenzo (12), Thon Maker (11) and Tony Snell (11).

Ibaka's 30-point game was the second of his career. His first came as a member of the Orlando Magic in a 2016 game at Oklahoma City.

Pascal Siakam had 22 points and Jonas Valanciunas 10 for the Raptors, while Kyle Lowry totaled a season-best 15 assists to go with nine points.

Lowry's assist total was the fourth of his career with 15 or more, and three shy of his career best of 18, set twice.

The Bucks improved to 5-0 at home, while the Raptors fell to 1-1 in just their second road game of the season.

Milwaukee outshot Toronto 48.9 percent to 39.4, and outscored the visitors 57-27 on 3-pointers.

Middleton had four of the Bucks' 19 3-pointers.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Suns guard Bledsoe set for knee op

LOS ANGELES -- Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe, the NBA team's top scorer, will have surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, the team said Sunday.

Bledsoe was hurt on Saturday in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, an embarrassing defeat to a team that had won just one other game this season.

The Suns said the operation will be performed on Tuesday, and there is no timetable yet for Bledsoe's return.



It's a tough blow for the Suns, with Bledsoe averaging 20.4 points and 6.1 assists in 31 games this season.

The news came on the same day that ESPN reported Suns coach Jeff Hornacek's job could be in danger.

Hornacek described Saturday's loss to the lowly 76ers as "a low point" for a team in the midst of a 5-15 stretch.

"Now the confidence is lacking," said Hornacek, whose team was expected to contend after the arrival of Brandon Knight last February and the offseason addition of Tyson Chandler.

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