No Giannis? No worries for Bucks

Lillard, Portis make up for star’s absence in victory

Damian Lillard had 31 points and 16 assists and Bobby Portis had 31 points and 10 rebounds Sunday to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 140-129 victory against the visiting Phoenix Suns. The Bucks hit 24 3-pointers to win without star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was idled by hamstring soreness.

Phoenix trailed 100-94 after three quarters and closed to within 122-115 on Bradley Beal’s layup with 6:17 left, but Lillard’s 3-pointer put Milwaukee up 134-120 with 3:18 remaining.

Khris Middleton contributed 22 points for Milwaukee in his first game back after missing 16 games with an ankle sprain.

The win moved the Bucks a game and a half ahead of second-place Cleveland for the second-best record behind Boston in the Eastern Conference.

Other games

Heat 104, Pistons 101:

Bam Adebayo’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Miami the win at Detroit. Duncan Robinson scored a season-high 20 points for the Heat.

Mavericks 107, Nuggets 105:

Kyrie Irving’s running left- handed shot at the buzzer capped a wild final finish in Dallas’ win. Denver rallied from 13 points down in the fourth quarter and went ahead on Jamal Murray’s 3pointer with 26 seconds left.

Celtics 130, Wizards 104:

Sam Hauser had career highs of 30 points and 10 3pointers to help short-handed Boston beat host Washington. Jayson Tatum also scored 30 points with six 3pointers as the NBA-leading Celtics hit 24 shots from beyond the arc in a game in which they never trailed despite missing three starters.

Magic 111, Wizards 96:

Paolo Banchero scored 29 points and host Orlando pulled away from Toronto for a victory, handing the Raptors their seventh consecutive loss. Franz Wagner had 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Orlando, and his brother, Moritz, scored 14 points.

Spurs 122, Nets 115, OT:

Victor Wembanyama finished with 33 points, including two dunks in overtime, and added 16 rebounds and seven assists for San Antonio.