Bucks survive Kings’ late rally in Antetokounmpo’s absence
Embiid returns, lifts 76ers past T-Wolves
LOS ANGELES: Jrue Holiday turned a short jumper into a three-point play with 1:32 minutes to go, then added a driving hoop 33 seconds on Saturday night, allowing the visiting Milwaukee Bucks to stall a Sacramento Kings rally and pull out a 129-128 victory without Most Valuable Player candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Holiday’s personal five-point flurry capped a season-best, 33-point night. The Bucks led 118-105 after a tip-in by Brook Lopez with 6:48 minutes remaining. But despite playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Kings made an energetic late push, scoring 14 of the next 15 points to tie the game at 119 on a Terence Davis three-pointer with 2:06 minutes to play.
Davis, who shared Kings scoring honours with De’Aaron Fox with 27 points, had a pair of three-pointers in Sacramento’s frantic late run. Fox added a three-point play, while Buddy Hield did the rest of the scoring on a dunk and a three-pointer.
Lopez added 26 points, Bobby Portis 18 and Khris Middleton 16 for the Bucks. Donte complemented a game-high 14 rebounds with 12 points. Buddy Hield finished with 19 points, and Tyrese Haliburton had 12 points and 11 assists for the Kings.
Meanwhile Joel Embiid scored 24 points in his return from a 10-game injury absence to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to a 122-113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Embiid added eight rebounds and three blocks in his first game since suffering a bruised left knee during the 76ers 127-101 win over the Washington Wizards last month.
“It felt great,” said Embiid who played with his knee heavily bandaged. “Just trying to get my rhythm back. I’m going to blame the brace I was wearing. I just felt like I didn’t have my rhythm all game. It felt like I wasn’t smooth. I hate the brace.”
Tobias Harris scored a team high 32 points, Shake Milton and Ben Simmons each had 14 points and Seth Curry added 13 for the 76ers, who have won 12 of their last 15 contests.
The 76ers beat the Timberwolves for the eighth consecutive time, shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc and 50 percent from the field.
Elsewhere, the Dallas Mavericks used another solid defensive performance to hold their opponent to under 100 points for the second game in a row as they capped a five-game road trip with a 109-87 win over the Washington Wizards.
Luka Doncic finished with 26 points, Jalen Brunson came off the bench to score 19 as the Mavs posted their fourth straight win.
All five Maverick starters scored in double-figures, including Boban Marjanovic who tallied 15 points, 12 rebounds. Marjanovic was starting in place of Kristaps Porzingis, who was given the night off because Dallas were playing two straight days.
Tim Hardaway scored 16 points, making consecutive threes in the fourth quarter that gave the Mavericks a dominating 19 point lead which ended the Wizards comeback hopes.
Dallas held two Wizard starters Alex Len and Garrison Mathews scoreless and they snapped Russell Westbrook’s consecutive triple double streak at four games.
Westbrook finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds as Washington also shot just five of 25 from beyond the arc.
With NBA-leading scorer Bradley Beal sidelined for a fourth straight game due to a hip contusion and Rui Hachimura out with a shoulder injury, the Wizards were without two of their top three scorers.
Also, Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points, including six threes, as the Utah Jazz beat the Orlando Magic 137-91 in Salt Lake City.
Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic each scored 17 points, while Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to score 15 as the Jazz won their ninth straight.
Utah set an NBA record with 18 three-pointers in the first half, surpassing the 2018 Golden State Warriors.