Giannis, Bucks win showdown with Durant, Brooklyn
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 49 points, Khris Middleton had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks edged Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets 117-114 on Sunday.
Antetokounmpo also had eight rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. He went 21 for 36 from the field, helping Milwaukee overcome a terrific performance by Durant.
The Bucks (40-24) won for the third time in four games to pull within 2 1/2 games of the Nets (43-22) in the three-way battle for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia is on top at 42-21 heading into its matchup with San Antonio on Sunday night.
Milwaukee hosts Brooklyn again on Tuesday night.
Durant had 42 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, but he missed a difficult fadeaway 3-pointer at the buzzer. Kyrie Irving scored 20 points, and Landry Shamet finished with 17.
Antetokounmpo finished three points shy of his career high, set against Philadelphia in March 2019.
A slick move by Antetokounmpo gave the Bucks a 117-112 lead, and Irving answered with a layup. But Durant and Khris Middleton traded 3-point misses before the final attempt by Durant.
76ERS 113, SPURS 111 (OT) >> Joel Embiid had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and visiting Philadelphia held on to San Antonio in overtime.
Ben Simmons tipped in the game-winner off a miss from Embiid as time expired. Embiid had four points in overtime, all on free throws.
HEAT 121, HORNETS 111 >> Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Jimmy Butler added 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and the surging Miami Heat easily defeated the Charlotte Hornets to move into sole possession of sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat (35-30) are a full game ahead of the Celtics with seven games remaining.
KNICKS 122, ROCKETS 97 >> Julius Randle scored 31 points in three quarters to lead the New York Knicks to a victory over the Houston Rockets.
Randle, who had seven rebounds and six assists, scored 15 points in the third quarter to pad the lead and spent the fourth quarter on the bench with the game out of reach.
It was the 11th victory in 12 games for the Knicks and the seventh loss in eight games for the Rockets. TRAIL BLAZERS 129, CELTICS 119 >> CJ McCollum scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and Portland held on for a win over the Boston Celtics, extending the Trail Blazers’ winning streak to four.
Damian Lillard had 26 points and 13 assists for Portland. Carmelo Anthony finished with 13 points. SUNS 123, THUNDER 120 >> Devin Booker scored 32 points, and Phoenix held off Oklahoma City.