Antetokounmpo leads Bucks past Cavs
Giannis Antetokounmpo showed few signs he was bothered by an ailing right ankle, getting 26 points and 10 rebounds to lift to Milwaukee Bucks over the Cleveland Cavaliers 127-105 on Sunday in Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo was listed as questionable after missing two of the three previous games with an ankle sprain. He made 11 of 16 shots and had seven assists in 32 minutes.
Khris Middleton and George Hill added 17 points apiece for the Bucks. Hill was acquired from the Cavaliers in a three-team trade in early December.
Kevin Love had 20 points, Jordan Clarkson 19 and Collin Sexton 18 for Cleveland.
Milwaukee improved to an Nba-best 55-19. The Raptors dropped to 51-23 with their loss Sunday to the Charlotte Hornets.
The Bucks never trailed, jumping out to a 15-6 lead. Milwaukee led 68-55 at the half, but the Cavaliers pulled within 82-73 on David Nwaba’s onehander from the lane.
Hill’s jumper from just inside the arc in the closing seconds put Milwaukee up 90-77 entering the fourth quarter.
Milwaukee lost at Cleveland on Wednesday, 107-102, without Antetokounmpo, when the Bucks used only eight players due to other injuries. PACERS 124, NUGGETS 88: Bojan Bogdanovic scored 26 of his 35 points in the first half to lead Indiana over Denver. Myles Turner had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Domantas Sabonis added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Pacers. Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets.
HORNETS 115, RAPTORS 114: Jeremy Lamb banked home a halfcourt 3-pointer at the buzzer and Charlotte beat Toronto. Toronto looked to have won the game after Kawhi Leonard, who scored 28 points, hit the go-ahead basket with 44 seconds left, then blocked Kemba Walker at the other end. Charlotte got one final chance after Leonard missed a jumper with 5.8 seconds to go. Pascal Siakam knocked the inbounds pass away from Lamb, who chased the ball into the back court before launching the game-winning shot.