Bucks rally, clinch No. 1 seed in East
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton scored 33 points each, and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame a huge early deficit to get a 130-116 win over the Miami Heat on Thursday to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat led by as many as 23 points in a first half where the team piled up 73 points despite playing without Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic. Miami cooled off after the break and the Bucks took the lead in the third quarter but were down by 6 to start the fourth.
Antetokounmpo sat out about five minutes of the fourth quarter after collecting his fifth foul with 11 minutes to go. Milwaukee trailed by 1 with about five minutes remaining before using a 20-0 run, with three dunks from Antetokounmpo, to make it 130-111 with less than a minute to go and cruise to the victory.
Antetokounmpo and Middleton played 30 and 34 minutes respectively after the stars both sat out the entire second half of their last game on Tuesday.
Duncan Robinson had 21 points for the Heat, who lost to Milwaukee for the first time this season after winning the first two meetings.
KINGS 140, PELICANS 125
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a career-high 35 points to help Sacramento beat New Orleans
De’Aaron Fox had 30 points and 10 assists and Harrison Barnes added 22 points for the Kings, who got their first win in four tries since the restart. The Kings shot 54 percent.
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram each scored 24 points for the Pelicans. Williamson made his first eight shots and ended up making 10 of 12 overall in just under 22 minutes.
CLIPPERS 126, MAVERICKS 111
Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points to help Los Angeles beat Dallas
Paul George scored 24 points and Ivica Zubac added 24 points on 10for-10 shooting and 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who strengthened their hold on the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference standings. Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points and Luka Doncic added 29 for Dallas.
SUNS 114, PACERS 99
Deandre Ayton had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Phoenix continued its improbable run in the NBA bubble with their fourth straight win. Malcolm Brogdon had 25 points, six assists and six rebounds to lead the Pacers.
TRAIL BLAZERS 125, NUGGETS 115
Damian Lillard tied his franchise record with 11 3-pointers and scored 45 points, and Portland moved closer to the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference by beating Denver. Gary Trent Jr. had 27 off the bench and Jusuf Nurkic scored 22 for Portland.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Denver, which remained in the West’s No. 3 spot.