Bucks capture 8th straight
Middleton has 27 in win over Celtics
Khris Middleton had 27 points and 13 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks topped the Boston Celtics 121-119 on Wednesday for their eighth consecutive victory.
Milwaukee led by as many as 25, but only secured the win when Boston’s Daniel Theis missed a wide-open corner 3-point attempt in the final seconds.
After trailing 90-65 midway through the third quarter, the Celtics cut the margin to two on Jaylen Brown’s 3-pointer with 1:32 left. Theis then drew an offensive foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Celtics had multiple opportunities to tie the game or go in front the rest of the way.
Marcus Smart missed a 3-pointer with just over a minute left. Donte Divincenzo blocked a shot attempt from Kemba Walker with about 35 seconds remaining. Brook Lopez blocked a Smart shot attempt from around the basket with 2 seconds left.
Pacers 116, Pistons 111: Caris Levert scored 28 points and Indiana snapped a six-game home losing streak. Levert’s fourth 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining clinched the victory. It’s the first time Levert has surpassed 20 points in seven starts with the Pacers since being acquired in a threeteam trade. The Pacers (20-23) ended their worst winless stretch at home since losing six in a row in 1985. The Pistons (12-31) have the Eastern Conference’s worst record.
Raptors 135, Nuggets 111:
Pascal Siakam scored 27 points and Toronto routed Denver to break a nine-game losing streak. Toronto built a 24-point lead in the first half and shot 50 percent (24-for-48) on 3pointers overall to win for the first time since Feb. 26.
Hornets 122, Rockets 97:
Terry Rozier scored 25 points, Devonte’ Graham added 21 and Charlotte beat Houston. The Rockets quickly returned to the loss column after snapping a 20-game losing streak Monday night.
Grizzlies 116, Thunder 107:
Dillon Brooks matched a season high with 25 points, and Memphis defeated Oklahoma City in the opening game of a four-game trip.
Cavaliers 103, Bulls 94: Darius Garland had 22 points
Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks takes a 3-point shot over Robert Williams III of the Celtics during the second half of their game Wednesday. Antetokounmpo finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the victory. and nine assists, Jarrett Allen added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Cleveland used a balanced attack to defeat Chicago without leading scorer Collin Sexton.
Magic 112, Suns 111: Evan Fournier scored the last of his 21 points on a driving layup over Phoenix center Deandre Ayton with 6.4 seconds left and Orlando beat the Suns.
Mavericks 128, Timberwoves 108: Kristaps Porzingis had 29 points and seven Dallas players scored in double digits as the Mavericks ran away with a win over Minnesota. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 21 points off the bench for Dallas, and Luka Doncic finished with 15.