Giannis powers Bucks past Knicks

NEW YORK — Giannis Antetokounmpo was so eager to make a rimrocking Christmas debut that he overshot the basket on his first attempt, a dunk from one side that ended with the ball all the way in the opposite corner.

“I was so excited that I went a little bit too high and I thought the rim was a foot taller,” Antetokounmpo said.

He and the Milwaukee Bucks eventually settled down and showed they belonged on the holiday stage.

Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 14 rebounds, and Milwaukee celebrated its return to the Christmas schedule by beating the New York Knicks 109-95 on Tuesday.

“This is one of the highest stages,” Antetokounmpo said. “Special teams play Christmas Day, and just it’s an opportunity for us and we’re really happy.”

CELTICS 121, 76ERS 114: Kyrie Irving hit backto-back 3-pointers in overtime for six of his 40 points and the Boston Celtics rallied to a win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Irving, who forced the OT on a jump shot with 20 seconds left in the fourth, also pulled down 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who trailed 113-108 with 3:33 left in the extra period before rallying behind Irving down the stretch. Ben Simmons’ two free throws with 2:15 left to put the Sixers up 114-112, but Philadelphia didn’t score again. Irving’s 3-pointer with 3:01 left gave Boston its first lead of overtime at 115-114, then after a miss by Philadelphia, Irving hit another 3-pointer with 1:28 left and Boston fans leaped to their feet and cheered louder than they had all night. Jayson Tatum and Marcus Morris scored 23 apiece for Boston and Terry Rozier had 10 points.