Bucks hand Pistons 23rd consecutive loss

Damian Lillard scored 33 points, Bobby Portis had a season-high 31 and the Milwaukee Bucks trounced Detroit 146-114 on Saturday to hand the Pistons their 23rd consecutive loss.

Detroit has matched the NBA's third-longest skid within the same season. The 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies, 1997-98 Denver Nuggets and 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats also lost 23 straight.

The record for the longest losing streak within a single season is shared by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers, who both dropped 26 consecutive games.

76ERS 135, HORNETS 82 » Joel Embiid had 42 points and 15 rebounds, and Philadelphia handed injury-depleted Charlotte its worst loss in franchise history. The Hornets' previous largest loss was a 50-point defeat to the Bucks in 2000.

Charlotte played without three starters in LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward and Mark Williams, two key reserves in P.J. Washington and Cody Martin, and then lost top scorer Terry Rozier in the third quarter when he caught an elbow to the nose.

HEAT 118, BULLS 116 » Jimmy Butler hit a step-back jumper as time expired to lift Miami past Chicago. Butler finished with 28 points .

TIMBERWOLVES 127, PACERS 109 » Karl-Anthony Towns had a season-high 40 points, Anthony Edwards had 37 points and Minnesota routed Indiana. The Timberwolves are 11-1 at home and tied with Boston for the NBA's best record at 19-5.

CAVALIERS 127, HAWKS 119 » Jarrett Allen had 25 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell added 22 points and a career-high 13 assists and Cleveland beat Atlanta.

WARRIORS 124, NETS 120 » Steph Curry scored 12 straight fourth-quarter points on the way to 37, Klay Thompson added 24 points with back-to-back timely 3s in the closing minutes, and Golden State snapped a three-game losing streak.

THUNDER 118, NUGGETS 117 » Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a turnaround jumper with a second left and Oklahoma City rallied to beat Denver.

MAVERICKS 131, TRAIL BLAZERS 120 » Luka Doncic had a triple-double with 40 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to lead Dallas.

KINGS 125, JAZZ 104 » Keegan Murray made 12 3-pointers, two shy of the NBA record, and scored a careerhigh 47 points to lead Sacramento past Utah.

Ivica Zubac's poster dunk, punctuated with a roar, said it all. It was the message coach Tyronn Lue wanted to send the New York Knicks on Saturday.

Lue said before the game the Clippers needed to match the Knicks' physicality and aggressiveness one through five to have any chance of extending their winning streak. If not, he said, it would be “a long night for us.”

Zubac responded to the challenge with his monstersized dunk over Jericho Sims less than three minutes into the game, and the rest of the team followed for a 144-122 victory at Crypto.com Arena.

The game tested not only the Clippers' defense and ability to match the opponent's physical play, but their resolve to keep their streak intact. With the lopsided victory, the Clippers (15-10) extended their league-leading

CLIPPERS 144, KNICKS 122

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