Giannis hurt in Bucks’ victory over Clippers

NEWYORK: Khris Middleton scored 39 points as Milwaukee Bucks moved closer to securing the top record in the Eastern Conference with a 128118 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

The victory came with some concern, however, as Giannis Antetokounmpo left the game with 7:46 remaining and did not return after sustaining a right ankle injury when he stepped on the foot of the Clippers’ Garrett Temple.

Antetokounmpo’s status moving forward was not immediately known, although he did remain on the bench for the remainder of the contest.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer did not express significant concern after the game and said the team would wait to see how their star player feels.

Antetokounmpo finished with 34 points as the Bucks remained four games ahead of the second-place Toronto Raptors.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Clippers with 21 points.

James Harden scored 38 points, Clint Capela posted a double-double, and hosts Houston closed the gap on Denver in the race for the second seed in the Western Conference.

Houston clinched the season series with the win, along with home-court advantage in the event the teams close the regular season with the same record and meet in the playoffs.

Harden scored 16 points in the third quarter to help the Rockets fend off one Denver run after another.

Capela totalled 17 points and 15 rebounds and claimed a spirited battle with Nuggets All-Star centre Nikola Jokic (16 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks), whose early thrust lifted Denver to a seven-point advantage late in the first quarter.

Goran Dragic posted his second career triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists as Miami defeated visiting Dallas.

Miami’s win – coupled with an Orlando Magic loss earlier – moved the Heat back into the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

Miami lead Orlando by a halfgame with just seven games remaining for the Heat and six for the Magic.

Dragic, who has been slowed this season due to a knee injury, made his first start since Dec 10.

He had nine of his points in the fourth quarter.

Luka Doncic had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Mavericks.

DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points, 21 of them in the second half, but his assist on a three-pointer by Patty Mills with 14.5 seconds left proved to be the key play in San Antonio’s win over visiting Cleveland.

The Spurs shrugged off a ragged first half, moved to the lead in the third quarter and held off the Cavaliers in the fourth for the win, their 11th in their past 14 games.

The victory allowed the Spurs, the eighth-place team in the Western Conference standings, to gain a halfgame on seventh-place Oklahoma City.

Collin Sexton topped the Cavaliers with 24 points. — Reuters