Bucks rally past San Antonio
The Milwaukee Bucks had little to show for their attempts to improve in late-game situations this season.
Until they took on San Antonio.
Michael Beasley scored a season-high 28 points in place of an ill Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Bucks rallied to beat the Spurs 109-107 on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee erased a sixpoint deficit in the final five minutes to snap San Antonio’s nine-game home win streak.
“We were owed this game,” said Jabari Parker, who had 22 points and seven rebounds. “We’ve had so many opportunities when we let (them slip) out of our hands, but this game really got us over that hurdle that we’ve been asking for the past two months.”
Coming off a third-quarter swoon in a 107-101 loss Sunday to Washington, Milwaukee made it through another tough fourth quarter.
“I think this game showed a lot of character and resilience,” Beasley said. “It showed that we are working.”
Despite getting little from Antetokounmpo, the Bucks overcame Kawhi Leonard’s 30 points and a 13-point deficit in the first half.
Antetokounmpo, who missed Milwaukee’s previous game, started despite having a fever at morning shootaround. He was scoreless for the first time this season, missing his only three attempts.
Jazz 100, Cavaliers 92:
Gordon Hayward went toe-to-toe with LeBron James in the second half to help host Utah beat Cleveland. Hayward had 22 points and went back and forth with James in a decisive third quarter. James brought the Cavaliers back from a 15-point halftime deficit before Hayward drove the lead back to 14. James finished with 29 points.
Kings 100, Pistons 94:
DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists to help host Sacramento rally from a nine-point deficit to start the fourth quarter.
Trail Blazers 108, Lakers 87:
C.J. McCollum scored 25 points and visiting Portland used a dominant third quarter to defeat Los Angeles for the 10th consecutive time.
Raptors 114, Celtics 106:
DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 41 points, Kyle Lowry had 24 and host Toronto rallied to end Boston’s fourgame winning streak.
Rockets 121, Hornets 114:
James Harden had 40 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his second consecutive triple-double, and host Houston outlasted Charlotte for its ninth straight win.
Wizards 101, Bulls 99:
John Wall scored 26 points, including a gamewinning baseline jumper with 5.9 seconds left, and added 14 assists as host Washington moved above .500 by defeating Chicago.
Hawks 117, Nets 97:
Dennis Schroder had 19 points and 10 assists, Dwight Howard added 14 points and 16 rebounds, and visiting Atlanta beat skidding Brooklyn to win its seasonhigh seventh straight.
Rose returns:
Derrick Rose returned to practice with the Knicks after missing their game Monday night for what he described as family reasons. The team later announced he had been fined for missing the 110-96 loss to New Orleans and said he was expected to be in uniform Wednesday night in Philadelphia.