Jordan's big night paces Clippers past Bucks

DeAndre Jordan had 25 points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 127-120 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

Austin Rivers scored 22 points, Lou Williams had 19 and Tobias Harris added 18 for the Clippers, who shot 52.3 percent from the field. Milos Teodosic scored 15 points and Montrezl Harrell added 13.

Milwaukee All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo departed after injuring his right ankle in the second quarter. He had 12 points in 17 minutes before exiting as Milwaukee lost for the ninth time in the past 13 games.

Khris Middleton scored a team-high 23 points for the Bucks and Jabari Parker added 20. Eric Bledsoe scored 19 points, Shabazz Muhammad added 12 and John Henson scored 10 as Milwaukee shot 55.6 percent from the field.

Jordan's latest big rebounding outing -- he has 13 games of 20 or more this season -- helped the Clippers possess a 47-33 edge on the boards.

The victory moved Los Angeles within two games of eighth-place Utah in the Western Conference playoff race. Denver is a half-game ahead of the Clippers in ninth place.

Milwaukee trailed 67-63 after a basket by Henson with 8:33 remaining in the third quarter before Los Angeles went on a 13-4 surge. Harris made two 3-pointers during the run and Rivers sank one as the Clippers took an 80-67 lead.

Rivers made another trey with 2:55 left to give Los Angeles an 89-75 advantage and the Clippers held a 97-83 edge entering the fourth quarter.

Los Angeles increased its lead to 106-87 on Harrell's dunk with 8:24 remaining. Milwaukee got back into the contest with a 13-3 charge to trail by nine with 5:02 left.

The Bucks moved within 114-109 on Bledsoe's 3-pointer with 1:46 left but were unable to get closer than four points down the stretch.

Jordan had 17 points and 16 rebounds as the Clippers led 64-57 at the break.

Los Angeles used a 15-0 burst -- scoring the last 13 of the first quarter and first two of the second -- to take a 40-24 lead. The lead still stood at 13 after Williams knocked down a jumper with 5:39 left in the half.

The Bucks responded with a 15-6 charge and pulled within 61-57 on Middleton's 3-pointer with 1:10 left.

But Teodosic drained his own 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to give the Clippers the seven-point halftime lead.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Pacers hold back Bucks

Victor Oladipo scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as the visiting Indiana Pacers fended off the Milwaukee Bucks' late comeback attempt and snapped their two-game losing streak with a 103-96 victory Friday night at the Bradley Center.

All five Pacers starters scored in double figures, as did Lance Stephenson, who came off the bench to finish with 16 points. Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 points, Myles Turner 13, Cory Joseph 12 and Thaddeus Young 10.


Khris Middleton led Milwaukee with 30 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 24 with a 10-for-12 showing from the free throw line. However, the Bucks shot just 38.3 percent from the floor and went 9 of 25 from long distance as their losing streak reached four games.

Indiana made 44.6 percent of its field goal attempts, including 6 of 16 from 3-point range.

Milwaukee held a 46-45 lead at halftime despite shooting 35.6 percent. Antetokounmpo had 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, but was 4-for-10 from the floor while Bledsoe missed 7 of 8 first-half shots.

Fortunately for the Bucks, Indiana was even worse from the floor. The Pacers hit only 15 of 45 shots before halftime, and just two baskets came from beyond the arc. Turner led the way with 10 while Young and Stephenson added seven each.

Oladipo was held to four points in the first half but scored nine in the third quarter. Milwaukee missed 12 of its first 15 shots after the break while Antetokounmpo missed all five of his attempts in the third period. The Bucks went into the fourth in a 78-67 hole.

The Pacers blew the game wide open in the fourth and stretched their lead to 17 when Oladipo fed Domantas Sabonis for a 14-foot jumper with 6:34 left that made it a 93-76 game.

Milwaukee finally showed a pulse, starting with a 3-pointer from Middleton that kicked off a 10-0 run. Bledsoe capped it off with a 3-pointer off an assist from Antetokounmpo that got the Bucks within seven with 4:35 remaining.

An offensive foul on Turner marked a third straight empty possession for Indiana and kept Milwaukee's run going. Antetokounmpo made it a five point game with a pair of free throws. Bledsoe blocked Oladipo's 3-point attempt from the corner, and after Bledsoe turned it over, Oladipo finally broke the Pacers' drought with a 28-footer.

Milwaukee got no closer than four the rest of the way.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Nuggets sink 24 3-pointers, outgun Bucks

Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo each recorded triple-doubles, but Jovic's Denver Nuggets made 24 3-pointers in a 134-123 victory over the host Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night at the Bradley Center.

Jokic needed just 16 minutes of action to record his fifth triple-double of the season. He scored 16 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in the first half and finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds and 17 assists. He also had a triple-double Tuesday in a win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Antetokounmpo scored 36 points on 14-of-21 shooting, grabbed 11 boards and dished out 13 assists with three blocked shots for his first triple-double of the season.

Eric Bledsoe scored 27 and Khris Middleton chipped in 17 for the Bucks, who shot 53.3 percent overall but couldn't stop the Nuggets long-distance shooting while making just nine 3-pointers of their own.


Gary Harris scored 20 of his 28 in the first half and Jamal Murray finished with 26 for the Nuggets. Denver extended its winning streak to three games and finished one 3-pointer shy of the league's single-game record.

The Nuggets shot 55.3 percent overall from the floor, including 60 percent (24 of 40) from beyond the arc.

Denver's Will Barton and Harris started off strong, combining to make 5 of 7 3-point attempts in the opening quarter while scoring 13 and 14 points, respectively. As a team, the Nuggets shot 65 percent while the Bucks hit 46 percent of their shots but turned the ball over five times and closed the quarter down, 35-28.

Sterling Brown's 3-pointer with 7:55 left in the half capped off a 15-3 run that put the Bucks up 43-41. However, Milwaukee couldn't stop the Nuggets, who made 13 3-pointers and shot 63.6 percent from the floor before the break to take a 74-62 lead into the break.

Antetokounmpo had 17 in the half and Bledsoe and Middleton added 12 each for Milwaukee, which trailed by as many as 23 but cut the deficit to 12 with a late run.

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NBA: Curry-less Warriors blast Bucks

Kevin Durant scored 26 points and Draymond Green contributed 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead the visiting Golden State Warriors to a 108-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

Klay Thompson added 12 points for Golden State, which recorded its 11th consecutive road victory. The Warriors, who played without point guard Stephen Curry (ankle) for the second straight game, have won six of their past seven games overall.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points and Eric Bledsoe added 21 points and four steals for the Bucks. Malcolm Brogdon tallied 17 points for Milwaukee, which scored just 12 points on 5-of-20 shooting in the final quarter and shot 42.9 percent overall.

The Warriors, who shot 55 percent, held Milwaukee to four points over the first eight-plus minutes of the fourth quarter and used an 8-0 burst to take a 94-86 lead on Patrick McCaw's layup with 3:58 to play. Durant scored five in a row a short time later -- a 17-footer and a 3-pointer -- to increase the margin to nine with 2:19 remaining.

Green's 3-pointer made it 102-92 with 1:46 left as the Warriors closed it out.

"Definitely wasn't easy," Durant said in a postgame interview on ESPN. "They played tough and were physical with us all night. We just had to figure it out."

The Bucks trailed by 14 at halftime but exploded in the third quarter by making 6 of 8 3-point attempts while outscoring Golden State 33-17.

Milwaukee was still down nine just past the midway point of the quarter before Brogdon made two 3-pointers, the latter knotting the score at 79 with 1:28 left before another 3-pointer by Tony Snell helped the Bucks take an 82-80 lead into the final quarter.

Durant scored 17 points in the first half as the Warriors shot 63.6 percent of the field en route to a 63-49 lead at the break.

Thirteen of Durant's points came in the opening quarter when Golden State made 16 of 24 field-goal attempts. The highlight was Nick Young rushing up the court to nail a 34-foot contested 3-pointer as time expired to give the Warriors a 36-27 lead.

Young hit a baseline 3-pointer to make it 45-32 before the Bucks used an 11-2 push to cut their deficit to four. However, Golden State controlled the final six minutes of the quarter to take the 14-point halftime lead.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Antetokounmpo scores 31 as Bucks beat Pacers

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points, Khris Middleton added 27 and the Milwaukee Bucks extended the Indiana Pacers' losing streak to five games with a 122-101 victory Wednesday night at the Bradley Center.

Antetokounmpo and Middleton combined to hit 21 of 32 shots, with Middleton knocking down 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Overall, the Bucks shot 58.7 percent from the field and were 9-for-17 from distance as they scored 100 points or more for the 19th time in their last 20 games and hit the 120-point mark for the third time this season.

Thon Maker and Malcolm Brogdon had big nights off the bench for Milwaukee, combining for 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Brogdon added five assists while Maker grabbed four rebounds and blocked a shot in 22 minutes of work.

Matthew Dellavedova finished with eight points but dished out nine assists, marking his third consecutive game with nine or more assists, and the Bucks set a season-high with 33 assists on 44 makes.

Indiana fell to 0-6 on the season without leading scorer Victor Oladipo, who missed a fourth straight game because of soreness in his left knee.


Domantas Sabonis made 10 of 13 shots and led Indiana with 24 points. Darren Collinson had 17 and Lance Stephenson added 15 with seven rebounds and five assists for the Pacers, who shot 48.8 percent but were just 3-for-15 on 3-point attempts.

Antetokounmpo hit 8 of 11 shots and scored 21 points in the first half as Milwaukee only hit 2 of 3 3-pointers but shot 62 percent from the floor to go into halftime with a 62-52 lead.

The Bucks held Indiana to 21 points in the third while stretching their lead to 17 to open the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo spent all of the final period on the bench but that wasn't enough to help the Pacers, who fell behind by 23 with six minutes to play.

With the loss, Indiana fell to .500 (19-19) but still holds a one-game lead over Philadelphia for the eighth place in the East. Milwaukee (20-16) began the day sixth in the conference, holding a tiebreaker over Miami.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Mirotic comes off the bench to power Bulls over Bucks

Chicago forward Nikola Mirotic came off the bench to score 24 points and spark the visiting Bulls over Milwaukee, 115-106, in an NBA matchup Tuesday.

The 26-year-old Montenegro-born Spaniard made 9-of-18 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and grabbed eight rebounds to spark the Bulls to their 11th win in 33 games.

"Great game by us. We really stepped up," Mirotic said. "We're moving in the right direction."

Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks (17-15) with 28 points.

"We executed really good against Giannis," Mirotic said. "Offensively they really found me. We were pumped up. Defensively we rebounded really well. Offensively we need to keep improving."

   
Meanwhile, J.J. Barea led Dallas with 20 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 18 as the Mavericks upset visiting Toronto, 98-93.

The Mavericks took only their third win in 11 games to stand 10-25, still the worst record in the Western Conference.

The Raptors, led by Kirk Lowry's 23 points, saw their six-game win streak snapped and fell to 23-9 with just their second loss in 14 games.

Raptors coach Dwane Casey lamented his club shooting only 33.7 percent from the floor.

"None of us came out in the right disposition, ready to compete," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "Any time you shoot 33 percent you're not going to beat too many people in the league.

"Defensively, I thought we tried to lock it down the stretch. But again, the way they started the game going coast-to-coast, we were still on Christmas break."

In another game, Tobias Harris scored 30 points, 26 of them in the first half, and the Detroit Pistons routed visiting Indiana, 107-83.

Andre Drummond added 21 points and 18 rebounds for the Pistons, who won for the fifth time in six games.

Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson sprained his right ankle during the third quarter and had to be helped to the locker room by team medical staff. Jackson had eight points and a season-high 13 assists.

Indiana's Victor Oladipo, who averaged 25.3 points, scored a season-low 13.

Miami's Josh Richardson scored 20 points while Kelly Olynyk added 15 points and 12 rebounds to power the Heat over visiting Orlando 107-89. Elfrid Payton led the Magic with 19 points.

Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 to lead six double-figure scorers as the San Antonio Spurs ripped visiting Brooklyn, 109-97.

Spanish big man Pau Gasol added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs while reserve Caris LeVert led the Nets with 18 points.

Jamal Murray had team highs of 22 points and eight rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over visiting Utah, 107-83. Derrick Favors had 20 points for the Jazz in a losing cause.

Chandler dunk wins for Suns

Tyson Chandler made an alley oop dunk shot at the final buzzer off a pass from Dragan Bender to give the Phoenix Suns a 99-97 victory over visiting Memphis.

A James Ennis 3-point play pulled the Grizzlies within 94-93 with 56 seconds remaining. After an exchange of turnovers, Phoenix's Isaiah Canaan sank two free throws to stretch the Suns' lead but Tyreke Evans made a layup to pull Memphis within 96-95 with six seconds to play.

T.J. Warren made 1-of-2 free throws to give the Suns a 97-95 edge but the Grizzlies had four seconds to set up a final shot. Evans missed a layup but Jarell Martin dunked in the rebound to level the score at 97-97.

Devin Booker scored 32 points to lead Phoenix while Warren finished with 17. Evans led the Grizzlies with 25 points.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: James delivers as Cavaliers breeze past Bucks

LOS ANGELES - LeBron James has picked up right where he left off last season, scoring 24 points and dishing out eight assists on Friday as the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised past the Milwaukee Bucks 116-97.

The four-time NBA most valuable player led the Cavaliers in scoring for the second straight game despite missing most of the pre-season with an injury.

When James started the season he knew it was going to take time to fully recover from a sprained left ankle that limited him to just one pre-season game.

He played 37 minutes and drained 10 of 16 shots on Friday in front of a crowd of 18,700 at Milwaukee's Bradley Center arena.

"I felt better tonight than I did after game one," said James who scored a team high 29 points in a season-opening win over Boston on Tuesday.

"Each game is going to be another opportunity for me to get into game shape," he added. "Today I am still not where I want to be."

Don't tell that to the Bucks, who also had to contend with Kevin Love's second double-double of the season.

Love finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds while Kyle Korver tallied 17, hitting five-of-six three pointers.

"This is a huge win as a team," said James.

James injured his ankle after stepping on the foot of rookie forward Cedi Osman during practice on September 27.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 34 points on 15-of-22 shooting with eight rebounds and eight assists for Milwaukee, who lost their home opener and dropped to 1-1 on the season.

James said the Cavs stuck to their game plan, setting the tone early on defence before getting the offence "popping".

"We know Giannis is going to get his. But we made them make multiple passes, multiple triple drives. We defended.

"And then offensively in the second half we started to get that ball popping and had their defence off balance."

Elsewhere, Kemba Walker scored 26 points and Dwight Howard burned his former team for 20 points and 15 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets rallied from a 20-point deficit to storm past the Atlanta Hawks 109-91.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: LeBron James climbs to eighth in all-time scoring list

Much has been said about LeBron James' well-rounded game it's easy to forget how potent a scorer he is.

On Tuesday night, he twice reminded everyone why he's one of the best ever in that department.

James scored 34 points capped by a dagger three-pointer with 24 seconds left in overtime to help the Cleveland Cavaliers upend the Milwaukee Bucks 114-108.

Earlier in the night, James' putback at the 9:11 mark of the first quarter gave him 27,410 career points, putting him past Moses Malone for eighth place in the all-time scoring list.

James, whose career total came to 27,442 points by the end of the game, next targets Shaquille O'Neal, who is seventh all-time with 28,596 points.

"That's what makes our game so great," James said in an interview with ESPN.com.

"You've got so many different players, so many different facets, so many different skill sets, and then at the end of the day, they're all greats for a reason in their own right. So this game has seen a lot of great basketball players, a lot of great individuals, so like I said, for me, any time I see my name up there with anyone that's ranked up there with the greats is always humbling."

The Cavaliers (20-6) have a one-game lead over closest pursuer the Toronto Raptors (20-8) in the Eastern Conference.

Kyle Lowry scored 23 points and dished out eight assists, while Norm Powell contributed 21 points off the bench, as the Raptors took care of the Nets, 116-104, in Brooklyn.

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Warriors in seventh heaven as Durant, Thompson star

LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Durant scored 33 points as the Golden State Warriors secured their seventh straight victory with a roller coaster 124-121 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

Durant led the scoring with teammate Klay Thompson adding 29 as the Warriors held off a ferocious Bucks rally in the fourth quarter to take the win.

Milwaukee had recovered from a 14-point deficit in the final quarter and closed to 122-120 after Jabari Parker made a three-point play with 2:33 on the clock.

The Bucks had a chance to take the lead when Giannis Antetokounmpo forced a turnover but was unable to convert a floater.

Mirza Teletovic also missed with an open three-pointer, handing Golden State possession with 93 seconds on the clock to close out the win.

"We've played in some tight games but not down to the wire like this," said Durant. "It was a good test for us in the second night of a back-to-back to see how we'd respond coming to a building with a lot of energy facing a young team that was ready for us."

Bucks coach Jason Kidd praised his team's character but admitted they had paid the price for failing to make the most of their late chances.

"The guys fought for 48 minutes," Kidd said. "When you're playing against a team like the Warriors, you want to have an opportunity.

"Defensively, we got the stops. Offensively, we just couldn't the ball to go in. We had some great looks there. Giannis' layup just rimmed out, Mirza was wide open for a three," he added.

"That's the game of basketball. When you play against elite teams, you just want an opportunity. We had our opportunities tonight. They just didn't fall for us."

The Warriors, who improved to 11-2, faced no such problems. Thompson and Durant combined to go 19-for-34 from the field with 10 three-pointers.

The Dubs made 14 of 38 three-point attempts, while Stephen Curry chipped in with 20 points and Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala 10 apiece.

"Any win on the road is a good win," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

"Any win period is a good win, but especially on a back-to-back on a night when we didn't quite have it. Our opponent played an exceptional game. I thought Milwaukee was fantastic. We were able to pull it out. We got some stops down the stretch and some rebounds. We did what we needed to do."

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Bucks rally to defeat Heat

Finding a strong bench combination has been an issue all season long for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Wednesday was no different, as head coach Jason Kidd moved Greg Monroe back into the starting five while relegating Miles Plumlee back to the bench.

The move paid off, as Plumlee hit 8 of 12 shots and scored 18 points as the Bucks rallied down the stretch for a 114-108 victory over the Miami Heat at the Bradley Center.

"Sometimes, we try to take a step back and try to not put an emphasis on starting," Kidd said. "You just play your minutes. Miles played the same way as he did when he was starting."

Plumlee and Monroe had switched places 12 games ago as Kidd tried to add some punch to his bench, which had been plagued by injuries and general ineffectiveness.

Both players responded well to the move, especially Plumlee, who averaged 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 19.1 minutes a night.

He wasn't the only reserve to step up in a big way for Milwaukee. Little-used point guard Tyler Ennis was pressed into action thanks to the season-ending injury to Michael Carter-Williams and a stomach virus that kept O.J. Mayo away Wednesday night.

He scored eight points with five assists in 25 minutes of work and had five in the fourth quarter as the Bucks re-took the lead and pulled away for the victory.

"We needed it tonight," said Khris Middleton, who finished with 22. "Those guys have been working hard all year long. They finally got a chance to play some minutes and really produced out there for us."

The Bucks held an eight-point lead early in the third quarter before Miami got on a little bit of a roll and grabbed the lead on a hook shot by Luol Deng that made it a 76-74 game with 3:49 left in the quarter.

Deng scored 11 of his 20 in the third and added seven more in the final quarter, but Milwaukee answered and tied the game at 89 on a Middleton jumper with 8:15 remaining.

Wade found Deng open in the corner to put the Heat back up three, but a bucket and two free throws by Plumlee put Milwaukee back in front.

A layup by Giannis Antetokounmpo pushed the lead to five with 6:07 remaining and Milwaukee held on for the victory.

"I don't think they really knew what they wanted to do with me and Giannis in the pick-and-roll, so it worked out for us," said Middleton.

"It's something that we've been doing lately with smaller guys guarding me and him, so it's been working for us."

Miami and Milwaukee both shot 52.5 percent from the field, hitting an identical 42 of 80 shots.

And while the Heat outperformed from beyond the arc, hitting 6 of 15 compared to 4 of 8 for Milwaukee, the Bucks held an advantage at the free-throw line, making 26 of 37 while Miami made just 18 in 19 trips, and also capitalized on second-chance points, scoring 19 off 12 offensive rebounds.

But Miami's good shooting was nullified by carelessness; Milwaukee forced 17 turnovers which the Bucks flipped for 23 points.

"They had 66 paint points, we had 60. They beat us at the line. They beat us in second chance points," said Dwyane Wade, who scored 18 but was forced to play with four fouls for much of the final quarter.

"But as a team, we had just too many turnovers."

Josh Richardson hit three 3-pointers and finished with 14 points while Hassan Whiteside scored 23 off the bench to lead Miami, which had its five-game winning streak snapped.

The Bucks got 24 from Antetokounmpo and 23 from Jabari Parker while Monroe finished with 10 and eight rebounds.

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