Lillard, Portis pace Bucks past Suns without Antetokounmpo
MILWAUKEE — Damian Lillard had 31 points and 16 assists and Bobby Portis had 31 points and 10 rebounds to lead Milwaukee past the Phoenix Suns 140-129 on Sunday, as the Bucks hit 24 3-pointers to win without star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo, averaging 30.8 points and 11.2 rebounds, was out with left hamstring soreness. He missed just his fourth game of the season and first since March 4, when he was out with Achilles tendinitis.
“It’s not an injury, we were just concerned a little bit,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “Plus, when you look at the schedule, you have one, two, three, four, five days off. We planted it in him and he had to do it. We’re happy that he decided to do it.”
Phoenix trailed 109-94 after three quarters, but closed within 122-115 on a lay-in by Bradley Beal with 6:17 left. Lillard’s 3-pointer from the top left put Milwaukee up 134-120 with 3:18 remaining.
“I just wanted to come out and be in attack mode,” said Lillard, who became the first Bucks player in history to have a 30-point, 15-assist game. “I didn’t really think to myself I’m going to have to score a bunch of points. I just knew I had to be a problem for the defense.”
Khris Middleton added 22 points for Milwaukee in his first game back after missing 16 games with a sprained left ankle. The Bucks finished 24 of 41 from 3-point range, with Portis and Malik Beasley hitting five apiece.
“I thought it was huge, especially with Giannis being out,” Lillard said of Middleton’s return. “Any time you’re down your best player and then you add another weapon to a team that’s already down, it’s a pick-me-up just because we’re excited to have him back.”
Beal had 28 points, Grayson Allen had 25 points and Devin Booker scored 23 for Phoenix.
Milwaukee’s 18 first-half 3-pointers matched the NBA record for 3-pointers in the opening half held by the Suns and Utah Jazz.
“They changed their team, obviously, with Giannis not being in there, and Dame is an elite attacker that requires you to really extend your defense on him,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “The risk in that is exposing the 3-point line.”
Portis came off the bench for 25 first-half points, hitting 10 of 13 shots, including 5 of 5 from beyond the arc, in just under 13 minutes.
HEAT 104, PISTONS 101
DETROIT — Bam Adebayo made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Miami Heat to a 104-101 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
Cade Cunningham missed a 3-pointer for Detroit with 9 seconds left and Terry Rozier sprinted up the court with the rebound. He couldn’t get to the basket, so he tossed the ball to Adebayo, who made his third 3-pointer in the last three games.
Duncan Robinson scored a season-high 30 points for Miami on 10-for-15 shooting. Adebayo had 20 points and 17 rebounds as the Heat beat the Pistons for the second time in three days.
Robinson hit his 1,000th career 3-pointer in the first quarter. He reached the mark in 343 games, breaking the NBA record of 350 by Buddy Hield.
Evan Fournier scored a season-high 18 for the Pistons, who honored their 2004 NBA championship team at halftime. Cunningham had 17 points and nine assists, but he went 1 for 6 from beyond the arc.
Miami played without Jimmy Butler, forcing coach Erik Spoelstra to use his franchise-record 32nd starting lineup of the season.
CELTICS 130. WIZARDS 104
WASHINGTON — Sam Hauser had career highs of 30 points and 10 3-pointers to help the short-handed Boston Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 130-104 on Sunday night.
Jayson Tatum also scored 30 points with six 3-pointers as the Nba-leading Celtics hit 24 shots from beyond the arc in a game in which they never trailed despite missing three starters.
In the first of back-to-back games — with a game against Detroit on Monday — Derrick White (left hand sprain) and Jaylen Brown (right ankle sprain) joined Kristaps Porzingis (right hamstring strain) among the ranks of injured Boston players.
Jordan Poole scored 31 points for the Nba-worst Wizards, who were without four starters. Rookie Bilal Coulibaly sat out with a bruised right wrist.
MAGIC 111, RAPTORS 96
ORLANDO, Fla. — Paolo Banchero scored 29 points and the Orlando Magic pulled away from Toronto for a 11196 victory on Sunday night, handing the Raptors their seventh straight loss.
Franz Wagner had 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Orlando, and his brother, Moritz, scored 14 points. The Magic improved to 8-2 in their last 10 games.
Jordan Nwora led the injury-ravaged Raptors with 18 points, including 12 during an impressive third-quarter burst.