Antetokounmpo leads Bucks over Harden’s Rockets

LOS ANGELES: Milwaukee’s NBA Most Valuable Player contender Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points to lead the Bucks to a hard-fought 116-109 victory Wednesday over reigning MVP James Harden and the Houston Rockets.

Antetokounmpo added 21 rebounds and was a physical presence on both ends of the floor as the Bucks battled back from a 6054 halftime deficit to end the Rockets’ 10-game home winning streak.

The Bucks led by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter, but Harden and the Rockets had whittled that lead to three with less than two minutes remaining.

In Boston, the Celtics led by as many as many as 31 points in a wire-to-wire 135-108 romp over the Indiana Pacers.

The Celtics notched their fourth straight victory — all coming at home before they set off on a road trip that starts in Miami on Thursday.

In Washington, the Wizards made the most of a return home with a convincing 123-106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers — a day after the Sixers dominated the Wizards 132-115 in Philly.

The Sixers had won four in a row, but they have now lost nine straight in the nation’s capital, a skid dating back to November 2013.

The Brooklyn Nets overcame a 19-point first-half deficit to beat the Atlanta Hawks 116-100 in New York.

D’Angelo Russell led the Nets with 23 points. DeMarre Carroll added 17 off the bench and starting guard Joe Harris and reserve Spencer Dinwiddie added 16 apiece for Brooklyn, who edged ahead of Miami for the sixth spot in the East.

The New Orleans Pelicans also climbed out of an early hole erasing a 16-point first-half deficit to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 140-124.

Anthony Davis scored 38 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for the Pelicans, who won a third straight game for the first time since November.