Milan also drop points in draw
Giannis has 46 points, 12 boards as Bucks beat Kings
SAN FRANCISCO, March 14, (AP): Klay Thompson scored 33 of his 38 points in the first half, Stephen Curry added 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Phoenix Suns 123112 on Monday night.
Jordan Poole had 20 points and six assists off the bench for the defending champions. Kevon Looney helped the Warriors win their eighth straight home game and 12th of 13 with nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Golden State is 29-7 at home but 7-26 on the road.
Devin Booker scored 32 points and Deandre Ayton had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who roared back after halftime to make it interesting.
Josh Okogie’s 3 with 4:59 left in the third pulled Phoenix within 85-81 and his putback a minute later made it 87-84 before Curry and Co. came on again.
Bucks 133, Kings 124
In Sacramento, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 46 points and 12 rebounds as Milwaukee beat Sacramento.
Khris Middleton scored 31 points and Brook Lopez added 23 for the Bucks, who are on the verge of becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season. They came needing a win and a Miami loss, but the Heat beat Utah.
Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists for his 10th triple-double of the season for Sacramento.
De’Aaron Fox scored 35 points to lead the Kings, and Kevin Huerter had 17 of his 28 in the fourth quarter.
Grizzlies 104, Mavericks 88
In Dallas, Desmond Bane scored 23 points and Memphis won a second consecutive game against Dallas with all three of the teams’ All-Stars out.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving sat for Dallas with injuries, and Ja Morant remained away from the Grizzlies because of his issues off the court.
Rookie David Roddy scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting for Memphis.
Rookie Jaden Hardy scored 28 points for the Mavericks, who dropped under .500 for the first time since December. Josh Green was the only other Dallas player in double figures with 23.
Rockets 111, Celtics 109
In Houston, Jalen Green scored 28 points and rookie Jabari Smith Jr. added 24 as Houston held off Boston.
The Rockets, who are tied with Detroit for the NBA’s fewest wins with 16, snapped a three-game skid despite allowing the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown to score a season-high 43 points.
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Jayson Tatum scored 22 points but missed a potential tying layup at the buzzer for the Celtics.
Kenyon Martin Jr. had 20 points and eight rebounds for Houston.
Heat 119, Jazz 115
In Miami, Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, Tyler Herro and Gabe Vincent each scored 18 and Miami held off Utah.
Lauri Markkanen scored 38 points for Utah, which got 23 from Simone Fontecchio and 14 from Ochai Agbaji.
Talen Horton-Tucker put Utah on top with a short jumper with 1:16 left, and Herro gave Miami the lead right back on a 3-pointer with 55.3 seconds remaining.
Bam Adebayo added 16 points for Miami.
Timberwolves 136, Hawks 115
In Atlanta, Anthony Edwards scored 32 points in his hometown, Kyle Anderson had his third career triple-double and Minnesota beat Atlanta.
Trae Young finished with 41 points for the Hawks, who dropped to 3-5 under new coach Quin Snyder and have lost four of six. Atlanta went 4 for 22 beyond the arc and handed out 17 assists compared to 39 for Minnesota.
Anderson scored 12 of his 14 points in the third quarter and had 12 assists and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which snapped a two-game skid. Mike Conley had 21 points for the Timberwolves and Jaden McDaniels scored 19.
Pistons 117, Pacers 97
In Detroit, James Wiseman had 18 points and 14 rebounds as Detroit ended an 11-game skid by beating Indiana.
The Pistons, who hadn’t won since beating San Antonio 138-131 in double overtime on Feb. 10, led by 31 points in the first half and held off an Indiana surge late in the second quarter and early in the third.
Cory Joseph led Detroit with 22 points, Jalen Duren put up 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Killian Hayes had 10 points and 11 assists.
Jordan Nwora scored 20 points off the bench for Indiana.
MILAN, March 14, (AP): AC Milan failed to take advantage of its rivals’ slipups after it was held at home by relegation-threatened Salernitana to 1-1 in Serie A.
Olivier Giroud headed Milan in front on the stroke of halftime but Boulaye Dia replied in the 61st minute.
Milan remained fourth but inched one point clear of Roma. The defending champion was a point behind Lazio and two below Inter Milan in a tight battle for the Champions League qualifying spots.
Salernitana was seven points above the drop zone.
Inter, Lazio and Roma all dropped points at the weekend so Milan knew it could move level on points with its city rival in second.
The Rossoneri were also full of confidence after reaching the Champions League quarterfinals after drawing at Tottenham midweek.
Giroud almost scored a spectacular opener in the 27th but he sent an overhead kick on a corner narrowly over the crossbar.
The veteran forward did break the deadlock in first-half stoppage time when he headed in a corner.
However, Milan gifted Salernitana the equalizer when it left Dia completely unmarked to slot home Domagoj Bradarić’s cross.
Milan was awarded a penalty in the 70th for an apparent foul by Bradarić on Ismaël Bennacer but the referee revoked his decision after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor.
It took and his
teammates more than three minutes to be able to celebrate the striker’s important winner against in the Spanish league .
Morata’s goal early in second half stoppage time was confirmed only after a lengthy video review, but it finally counted to give Atletico the 1-0 win and sole possession of third place. Atletico entered the match tied on points with Real Sociedad, which on Sunday was held at Mallorca to 1-1. Diego Simeone’s team was still eight points behind second-placed Real Madrid, and 17 behind league leader Barcelona.
Madrid ❑ ❑ ❑ Álvaro Morata Girona SOCCER Atletico
Morata scored from close range after charging toward the far post following a corner kick cross by Antoine Griezmann from the right side. The ball was deflected inside the area before Morata could get to it near the goalline. The assistant raised the flag for offside but the goal eventually stood after being confirmed by the VAR.
Morata said his teammates were initially upset with him because it appeared the ball could have gone in even if he hadn’t touch it.
Morata scored twice in Atletico’s 6-1 rout of Sevilla in the previous round. Until then, he’d been scoreless in five straight games.