Beasley impresses
He steps up to fill void left by ailing Giannis
San Antonio — Michael Beasley did his best Giannis Antetokounmpo impression Tuesday night at the AT&T Center.
Or was that a Michael Beasley impression?
The Milwaukee Bucks forward did all he could with Antetokounmpo slowed by illness and limited to a few minutes of playing time in the first half, and it proved to be enough as the Bucks rallied for a 109-107 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Beasley finished with 28 points, five rebounds and four assists as the Bucks (1918) halted a two-game skid and avenged a close loss to the Spurs in Milwaukee last month. Milwaukee ended a nine-game losing streak to San Antonio.
Jabari Parker added 22 points and seven rebounds, and Malcolm Brogdon had 17 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Brogdon made 1 of 2 free throws with 7.1 seconds left, giving the Spurs a final chance. But Manu Ginobili missed badly on a threepoint try from the corner, and the Bucks celebrated.
“It’s a great win, not many teams are able to accomplish this,” Brogdon said.
Milwaukee had taken the lead on a corner three by Brogdon, going in front, 108107. Davis Bertans had a chance to regain the lead for the Spurs but his three rattled in and out and San Antonio had to foul.
“When it gets to you in the last minutes, you’ve got to shoot the open shots,” Brogdon said.
Kawhi Leonard paced the Spurs (30-8) with 30 points, and Danny Green, Tony
Parker and Jonathon Simmons had 14 each.
Antetokounmpo warmed up before the game and decided to try to play despite being sick with a virus for several days.
He clearly was not himself and was scoreless while playing 9 minutes in the first half. Antetokounmpo had two rebounds and two assists. Bucks coach Jason Kidd decided not to bring him back in the second half.
Leonard scored 11 points early in the second quarter to help the Spurs break away from a 23-23 tie after the opening period.
The Spurs forward sank a three-pointer to begin the quarter. After Greg Monroe countered with a jumper, Leonard converted a 4-point play to start a 10-0 Spurs run that gave them a 36-25 lead.
Leonard was fouled by Mirza Teletovic while sinking a triple and added the free throw.
Bucks rookie forward Thon Maker had five points in a 6-minute stint in the quarter.
Milwaukee closed the half on a 7-0 run, starting with a dunk by Miles Plumlee and a basket by Parker. Brogdon was fouled on a half-court attempt and made all three free throws with ninetenths of a second left.
San Antonio led at intermission, 59-53, on the strength of a 36-point second quarter.
The Bucks stayed close in the third quarter, pulling within 77-75 on a three-pointer by Tony Snell with 3:26 left.
A three-pointer by Ginobili extended San Antonio’s lead to 89-83 entering the final quarter.
Parker was on the bench with four fouls but Beasley picked up the scoring slack to keep Milwaukee close.
A drive by Beasley and a basket by Monroe pulled the Bucks within 93-92, before Simmons scored from the baseline over Maker.
Parker came back in the game with 8:03 remaining but quickly picked up his fifth foul while guarding Leonard. But the Bucks forward did not foul out and gave the Bucks a 103-101 lead when he grabbed a rebound and went coast-tocoast for a layup with 2:56 left.