Bucks rout Bulls 111-81, take 2-1 lead without Middleton
Grayson Allen made five 3-pointers and scored 22 points and NBA champions Milwaukee Bucks dominated Chicago Bulls 111-81 to take a 2-1 lead in the firstround playoff series without the injured Khris Middleton.
Giannis Antetokounmpo added 18 points. Bobby Portis started with Middleton out and finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds despite pain in his right eye from a hit in Game 2. And the Bucks made it look easy, handing the Bulls the most lopsided home playoff loss in franchise history, The Associated Press reported.
Coming off two shaky performances in Milwaukee, the Bucks quieted a raucous crowd watching Chicago’s first playoff game at the United Center in five years. They led by 24 in the second quarter and remained in control the rest of the way.
Game 4 is tonight in Chicago.
Antetokounmpo scored all but two of his points after
the first quarter. The twotime MVP finished with nine assists and seven rebounds.
Jrue Holiday added 16 points to help the Bucks beat the Bulls for the 18th time in 20 games.
Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 19 points. Zach Lavine had 15 and Demar Derozan finished with just 11 with the Bucks crowding him after setting a career playoff high with 41 in Game 2.
Booker-less Suns win
Chris Paul scored 19 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and the Phoenix Suns overcame Devin Booker’s absence to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 114-111 on Friday night in Game 3 of the first-round series.
Deandre Ayton added 28 points and 17 rebounds to help the top-seeded Suns take a 2-1 series lead. Paul scored 15 of Phoenix’s first 23 points of the final quarter. He also had 14 assists.
Booker strained his right
hamstring Tuesday night after scoring 31 first-half points in a 125-114 home loss. He sat on the bench during Game 3.
Mikal Bridges had 17 points for the Suns. Backup center Javale Mcgee scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting as the Suns hurt the Pelicans inside.
Brandon Ingram led New Orleans with 34 points. CJ Mccollum had 30.
Game 4 is tonight in New Orleans.
Jose Alvarado kept the Pelicans in it in the fourth with seven consecutive points, but Paul answered with five straight points and an assist to tie it at 90 with 6:32 left. Paul then had eight consecutive points for a 9893 lead.
Young shot
Trae Young hit a floater in the lane with 4.4 seconds left, and the host Atlanta Hawks overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat top-seeded Miami Heat
111-110 on Friday night, cutting the Heat’s Eastern Conference first-round series lead to 2-1.
Jimmy Butler missed a jumper with 12.6 second left that could have given the Heat a three-point cushion. He missed again on an off-balance three-point try at the buzzer with De’andre Hunter in his face to give the Hawks a burst of hope in the best-of-seven series.
Game 4 is tonight in Atlanta.
P.J. Tucker led a 21-0 run in the third quarter that pushed the Heat to an 84-68 lead and seemingly on cruise control to a 3-0 series lead. But Young and the Hawks would not let them get away.
Young finished with 24 points despite another stout defensive effort by the Heat. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18, Hunter had 17, and three other Hawks scored in double figures.
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 24 points, and Max Strus also had 20.