Balanced Bucks top short-handed Knicks
Bucks 112, Knicks 97: Khris Middleton scored 24 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had his first triple-double of the season to lead the visiting Bucks over the short-handed Knicks.
Antetokounmpo had 20 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds. Bobby Portis Jr. added 19 points, Rodney Hood had 14, Jrue Holliday chipped in 13, Grayson Allen contributed 12 and Pat Connaughton netted 10 as the Bucks had seven figures in double-digit scoring.
Milwaukee (18-10) never trailed as it won its second straight game and 10th out of 12 overall.
New York (12-15) has lost three in a row and seven of 10.
Nets 116, Pistons 104: Kevin Durant scored an NBA season-high 51 points in the Nets’ victory over the host Pistons.
Cade Cunningham had 26 and Frank Jackson added 25 for Detroit, which lost its 12th straight. The Pistons’ last win was Nov. 17 against the Pacers, and they still haven’t won back-to-back games this season. Patty Mills added 18 points for the Nets, who outscored Detroit 3013 in the fourth quarter.
On the same day Durant was fined $25,000 for using multiple expletives at a fan who yelled “Durant, stop crying,” on Friday during a game in Atlanta, he also bested Stephen Curry’s 50-point total for the league high this season.
Spurs 112, Pelicans 97: Jakob Poeltl had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Derrick White added 24 points, and the Spurs beat the visiting Pelicans.
Dejounte Murray added 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as San Antonio won for the fifth time in nine games. White added nine assists and eight rebounds. The Spurs’ backcourt combined to shoot 14 for 30.
Brandon Ingram had 27 points to lead New Orleans, while Jonas Valanciunas added 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Pelicans have lost four of six as they try to rebound from a nine-game skid during the first few weeks of the season.
San Antonio regrouped after being
drubbed 127-111 by Denver on Saturday, especially during a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter that put the Spurs up 90-82. San Antonio would extend its lead to 101-89 with 6 minutes remaining on Doug McDermott’s 16-foot jumper.
Mavericks 103, Thunder 84: Jalen Brunson had 18 points and nine rebounds while starting in place of injured star Luka Doncic, leading the visiting Mavericks over the Thunder.
It was the first time this season the Mavericks won without Doncic in the lineup.
Doncic experienced a flareup of a previous ankle injury in Friday’s game against Indiana and is being held out for back-to-back games. Dallas had been 0-4 without the All-Star guard this season.
Maxi Kleber scored 16 points off the Mavericks’ bench and fellow reserve Moses Brown added 15 against his former team.