Giannis leads the way as Bucks get even with Magic
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 20 rebounds and the Milwau- kee Bucks rode a fast start to beat the Orlando Magic 111-96 on Thursday and tie the Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.
The Bucks boasted the NBA’s best regular-season record at 56-17, but went 3-5 in the eight seeding games at Disney’s Wide World of Sports and opened the playoffs by losing 122-110 to Orlando.
Milwaukee bounced back Thursday, building a 23-point lead in the first half, though Orlando got the margin down to nine in the fourth quarter.
ROCKETS 111, THUNDER 98 >> James Harden had 21 points and nine assists and Houston made 19 of an NBA-record 56 3-point attempts to beat Oklahoma City for a 2-0 lead in the first-round Western Conference series.
Former Thunder star Russell Westbrook was out for the Rockets again with a right quad strain, but plenty of other Houston players picked up the slack. Danuel House Jr. scored 19 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points for the Thunder, and Danilo Gallinari added 17.
Oklahoma City dominated the second quarter and led 59-53 at halftime.
Oklahoma City led 8077 before the Rockets broke away with a 17-0 run, with just two of the points coming from Harden, the league scoring champion.
HEAT 109, PACERS 100 >> Duncan Robinson hit his first six shots, all from 3-point range, and finished with 24 points as Miami beat Indiana for a 2-0 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Robinson opened the game by making the Heat’s first three buckets, all 3s. He didn’t miss until midway through the third quarter, and Robinson tied the Heat record for 3s made in a playoff game with seven. He finished 7-of-8 shooting, all beyond the arc.
Goran Dragic scored 20 points for Miami, Jimmy Butler had 18 points and six assists, rookie Tyler Herro added 15 points off the bench, and Jae Crowder scored 10.
MAVS SURPRISE CLIPPERS >> Luka Doncic scored 28 points and the Dallas Mavericks put together the pivotal run when he was out to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 127-114 late Wednesday night and even the Western Conference playoff series at a game apiece.
Two nights after scoring 42 points in the highestscoring debut in postseason history, Doncic played just nine minutes in the second half. He finished with eight rebounds and seven assists.