NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee Bucks to victory; Indiana Pacers rally for overtime win | NBA News

Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his 16th 30-point double-double of the season for the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Indiana Pacers rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat Oklahoma City Thunder in overtime. Here’s a round-up of Friday’s NBA action…

Milwaukee Bucks 123-108 New York Knicks

Antetokounmpo amassed 38 points for the Bucks on 12-of-19 shooting plus 13 rebounds and five assists to lead the Bucks to their fourth victory in the past five games overall.

Jrue Holiday added 24 points and 10 assists, and Khris Middleton had 20 points.

The Bucks were ahead for the entirety of the game, despite being outshot by New York 46.5 percent to 46.1 percent.

New York trailed by 15 in the second quarter, but were within double digits throughout the third. However, the Knicks’ hopes of coming back in the fourth quarter faded quickly as Milwaukee outscored New York 30-20 to close the game.

Oklahoma City Thunder 110-113 Indiana Pacers

Domantas Sabonis registered 24 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists as the Indiana Pacers rallied from a 16-point, third-quarter deficit to record a 113-110 overtime victory over Oklahoma City Thunder.

Justin Holiday scored the go-ahead layup with 40.8 seconds remaining as part of a 22-point effort. Jeremy Lamb added 14 points as Indiana snapped a three-game slide and won for just the fourth time in the past 17 games.

The triple-double was Sabonis’ fifth of the season and 18th of his career and it helped the Pacers defeat the Thunder for the fifth straight time.

Charlotte Hornets 117-114 Los Angeles Lakers

Miles Bridges scored 26 points and Ish Smith provided a large boost off the bench with 22 points as the Charlotte Hornets held off the injury-riddled Los Angeles Lakers.

Terry Rozier and LaMelo Ball each scored 20 points for Charlotte, two nights after setting a franchise record with 158 points against the Indiana Pacers.

Ball made the first of a two-shot free-throw opportunity with 9.6 seconds to play to give the Hornets a 116-114 lead. Russell Westbrook’s 3-point attempt bounced away with less than a second left before a P.J. Washington free throw accounted for the final score.

The Lakers played without LeBron James, who missed a game for the second night in a row with a sore knee, and Anthony Davis, who had 31 points and 12 rebounds Thursday night at Philadelphia, but is coming off a knee injury and got the night off.

Houston Rockets 110-125 Portland Trail Blazers

Anfernee Simons and CJ McCollum combined for 53 points, Jusuf Nurkic added a double-double and the Portland Trail Blazers rode a balanced offensive attack to their third consecutive road victory.

Simons and McCollum shot a combined 21 for 37, including nine for 18 on 3-pointers, while scoring 27 and 26 points, respectively. They paced six in double figures for Portland, with Nurkic pairing 25 points with 13 rebounds to offer Portland inside heft to complement the perimeter proficiency.

After Houston cut what was an 18-point deficit to five in the fourth quarter, Nurkic and Simons helped the Trail Blazers reclaim control with consecutive baskets as Simons followed a Nurkic interior tally with a corner 3-pointer for a 103-92 lead with 7:34 left. The Rockets maintained the pressure but couldn’t get over the hump en route to their 10th consecutive home defeat.

Miami Heat 121-114 Los Angeles Clippers

Gabe Vincent shot 6-for-8 on third-quarter 3-point attempts and Jimmy Butler went 16-for-16 on free throws en route to 26 points as the Miami Heat beat the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

Vincent, staring in place of point guard Kyle Lowry – who missed his sixth straight game due to personal reasons – scored 23 points. He shot 7-for-12 from long range for the game.

Butler, playing with a sore left foot, added six rebounds and a game-high nine assists for the Heat, who have the best home record in the Eastern Conference (18-5). Miami also has the best overall ledger in the East (32-17).

Heat center Bam Adebayo added 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The victory was Miami’s first over the Clippers since December 2018, breaking a six-game losing streak in the series.

Phoenix Suns 134-124 Minnesota Timberwolves

Chris Paul collected 21 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns held on to beat the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves for their ninth consecutive win.

Phoenix’s Devin Booker led all scorers with 29 points to go along with nine assists. Cameron Johnson contributed 23 points, hitting five of nine attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Timberwolves, who trailed by 12 points late in the third quarter, closed within 112-108 after Edwards made a jump shot with 6:48 to play. Phoenix responded with a 14-5 run to go up by 13 with 4:11 left. Mikal Bridges made a layup to cap the run.

Minnesota cut the deficit down to 129-124 in the final minute but could not get any closer.

San Antonio Spurs 131-122 Chicago Bulls

Dejounte Murray scored 29 points and dished out 12 assists as the San Antonio Spurs took charge in the third quarter and held on to beat the visiting Chicago Bulls.

The Spurs led by seven points after a spirited late-third quarter run and expanded their advantage to 120-110 after a Derrick White layup with 3:32 to play. Chicago never got closer than four points the rest of the way.

San Antonio were able to get the shots they wanted down the stretch while getting big baskets from Murray and Jakob Poeltl.

Keldon Johnson added 23 points for San Antonio while Poeltl amassed 21 points and 11 rebounds, Derrick White scored 14 points, and Doug McDermott, Devin Vassell and Lonnie Walker IV tallied 11 points each in the win.

New Orleans Pelicans 105-116 Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic had a triple-double as the visiting Denver Nuggets won their fourth game in a row by defeating the New Orleans Pelicans.

Jokic finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Nuggets improved to 3-0 on a six-game road trip. Aaron Gordon scored 20 points, Bryn Forbes added 14, Monte Morris had 13, Austin Rivers 12 and Zeke Nnaji 11 for Denver, who have won nine of their last 12 games.

Memphis Grizzlies 119-109 Utah Jazz

Ja Morant tallied 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 119-109 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz.

Morant is averaging 35.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists over his past five games.

Brandon Clarke finished with 22 points for the Grizzlies, who won for the 15th time in 18 games. Jaren Jackson Jr. chipped in 18 points, and Desmond Bane added 17.

The Jazz played without Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell once again. Mitchell missed his sixth straight game because of a concussion. Gobert missed his third consecutive contest because of a calf strain.

Atlanta Hawks 108-92 Boston Celtics

Trae Young and John Collins each scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks beat the visiting Boston Celtics to earn their sixth consecutive win.

Bogdan Bogdanovic added 19 points and was instrumental in an 18-2 fourth-quarter run that allowed the Hawks to turn a one-point lead into a 17-point advantage.

Orlando Magic 119-103 Detroit Pistons

Franz Wagner scored 13 of his 24 points in the first quarter to help build a double-digit lead, and Mo Bamba finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds as the host Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons.

The Magic led 39-19 after the first period and 67-51 at halftime in improving to 2-2 on their current five-game homestand.

The 67 points marked a first-half season-high for Orlando, who won for the fourth time in 22 games at the Amway Center.

Terrence Ross (21 points) came off the Orlando bench to hit four 3-pointers and Chuma Okeke scored 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Gary Harris also added 10 points and six assists as the Magic shot 49.4 percent (41-for-83) as a team.