Milwaukee has edge in East battle

Antetokounmpo scores 40, blocks 76ers’ final shot

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 40 points and had a game-deciding block of Joel Embiid in the final seconds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 118-116 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday night in a matchup at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia of two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

Khris Middleton added 22 points and Jrue Holiday had 18 for the Bucks, who pulled within a half-game of idle Miami for first place in the East.

James Harden had 32 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers, and Embiid recovered from a slow start and finished with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists. Philadelphia dropped 1½ behind the Heat in the conference.

The Bucks scored 13 of the first 17 points of the fourth quarter, going in front on Middleton’s 3-pointer that made it 94-93 with nine minutes to play. The game remained close the rest of the way, with neither team going up by more than six points.

Every time it looked as if Milwaukee was going to pull away, the 76ers answered with a 3 to stay close. Embiid’s 3- pointer with 49.8 seconds left pulled Philadelphia within 117-116. After a turnover by Brook Lopez, Philadelphia had a chance to go in front, but Embiid missed a 14-footer following a timeout.

Antetokounmpo was fouled on the ensuing possession and made the first of two free throws to put the Bucks up 118-116 with 13.2 seconds to play. After another 76ers timeout, Harden’s step-back 3 was long. Embiid grabbed the rebound and looked primed to tie it with an easy layup, but Antetokounmpo swatted it away with 1.6 seconds left.

Other games Bulls 107, Wizards 94:

DeMar DeRozan scored 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, and visiting Chicago pulled away from Washington. Nikola Vucevic scored 27 points for Chicago, which is trying to avoid the play-in round of the postseason.

Mavericks 128, Lakers 110:

Luka Doncic scored 34 points in a triple-double and host Dallas routed the Los Angeles Lakers, who played without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Doncic had 12 rebounds and 12 assists to complete his triple-double.

Nets 130, Pistons 123:

Kevin Durant scored 41 points and host Brooklyn rallied past Detroit. Kyrie Irving added 24 points in his second home appearance since the vaccination mandate was lifted. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 34 points.