Bucks knock off Nets in OT, Giannis sets record
Giannis Antetokounmpo passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become Milwaukee's career scoring leader on a 3-pointer that forced overtime, and then made two free throws in the final seconds to give the Bucks a 120-119 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
The defending NBA champions clinched a return to the postseason with the win, in which Antetokounmpo had 44 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Jrue Holiday added 19 points and Khris Middleton had 16 before being ejected for a flagrant foul midway through the third quarter.
Kevin Durant had 26 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for the Nets, but missed a 3-pointer that would have won it. Kyrie Irving scored 25 points and Bruce Brown had 23.
Antetokounmpo entered the game 39 points behind Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's career scoring leader who had 14,211 points after beginning his career in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo passed him with a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left that knotted it at 110.
BULLS 135, CLIPPERS 130 >> DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 50 points and
Chicago rallied to beat the Clippers in overtime.
DeRozan finished two points shy of his career high. The five-time All-Star scored 17 in the fourth quarter, though he missed the goahead free throw in the closing seconds of regulation after making the first two attempts to tie it.
HAWKS 131, CAVALIERS 107 >> Trae Young scored 30 points and surging Atlanta never trailed while beating shorthanded Cleveland and clinching a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
Cedi Osman led Cleveland with 21 points. Darius Garland had 18 points and eight assists while sitting out the final quarter of the blowout loss. Cleveland has lost two straight and five of six as it attempts to keep the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference. PISTONS 102, 76ERS 94 >> Saddiq Bey scored 10 of his 20 points in the final 4:23 as Detroit pulled away down the stretch and beat Philadelphia.
Cade Cunningham scored 27 points for Detroit, which snapped a threegame losing streak and had a 39-8 edge in scoring off the bench.
Joel Embiid had 37 points and 15 rebounds and James Harden finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the 76ers.