Giannis has knee issue, Bucks win 13th straight
Giannis Antetokounmpo left late in the first quarter with a right knee issue to spoil his rapid return from a sprained wrist, but the Milwaukee Bucks still trounced the Miami Heat 128-99 on Friday night for their 13th consecutive victory.
Antetokounmpo was in the starting lineup just four days after heading to New York to have his right wrist examined. The two-time MVP was on the floor late in the first quarter when he passed the ball and immediately motioned to the bench as the Bucks called a timeout to enable him to head to the locker room.
Bucks officials said in the second quarter that Antetokounmpo had knocked knees with an opponent and wouldn’t return to the game. He had four points, four rebounds and four assists in just six minutes.
The Bucks still had no trouble extending the longest winning streak in the NBA this season. The Bucks pulled ahead for good four minutes into the game and rolled to their most lopsided victory of the season.
Jrue Holiday scored 24 points, and Bobby Portis had 18 points and 11 rebounds in his return from a sprained right medial collateral ligament that caused him to miss 11 games.
Jae Crowder, acquired at the trade deadline, made his 2022-23 debut and had nine points in 16 minutes. Crowder hadn’t played at all for Phoenix this season as the Suns attempted to deal him.
Jimmy Butler scored 23 points for Miami.
KNICKS 115, WIZARDS 109
Julius Randle matched his career high with 46 points and the New York Knicks overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Washington Wizards.
Jalen Brunson broke a 109-all tie with a bank shot in traffic with 42.1 seconds remaining, and the Knicks held on.
Bradley Beal tied the game for Washington with a 3-pointer with 59.5 seconds remaining. Then Brunson drove into the lane, picked up his dribble and appeared to be stuck amid a group of players when he was able to flip the ball up off the glass and in.
Kristaps Porzingis missed a 3-pointer at the other end, and Randle found Mitchell Robinson for a layup that pushed New York’s lead to four with 11.2 seconds to go. Then Washington’s Kyle Kuzma stepped out of bounds while receiving an inbound pass, essentially sealing his team’s chances.
Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma each scored 23 points for Washington.
HAWKS 136, CAVALIERS 119
Trae Young scored 34 points and Atlanta beat Cleveland in itsr first game under interim coach Joe Prunty.
The Hawks played their first game since coach
Bucks’ Jae Crowder gestures after making a shot during the second half against the Heat on Friday in Milwaukee.
Nate Mcmillan was fired on Tuesday. The team had three practices, including a shootaround session on Friday morning, under Prunty, who had been Mcmillan’s lead assistant
Dejounte Murray had 15 of his 25 points in Atlanta’s high-scoring second period.
Darius Garland led the Cavaliers, who suffered their third straight loss, with 33 points. Donovan Mitchell had 19.
The Hawks played their first game since coach Nate Mcmillan was fired on Tuesday. The team had three practices, including a shootaround session on Friday morning, under Prunty, who had been Mcmillan’s lead assistant.
Darius Garland led Cleveland with 33 points.
HORNETS 121, TIMBERWOLVES 113
Lamelo Ball had 32 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and the dagger 3-pointer down the stretch to lead the Charlotte Hornets past the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Gordon Hayward added a season-high 27 points and 13 rebounds and P.J. Washington had in 20 points for the Hornets. They won their third straight overall and stopped a seven-game road skid.
Bell bested Minnesota All-star Anthony Edwards in a battle of two of the top three picks in the 2020 draft. Edwards had 29 points and eight rebounds, bringing the Wolves to life in the fourth quarter and on the verge of avoiding a second damaging loss to the lottery-bound Hornets.
After Edwards hit a stepback jumper on Ball for a 104-102 lead with 6:41 left, Ball answered with a 3-pointer to put Charlotte back in front.
BULLS 131, NETS 87
Zach Lavine scored 32 points on 12-of-17 shooting and the Chicago Bulls drubbed the Brooklyn Nets to snap a six-game skid.
Chicago held Brooklyn to a season low in points; its previous worst was 92 in a loss to Boston in December. The Nets lost by their biggest margin this season, one point worse than a defeat by the Celtics on Feb. 1.
Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond each had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls. All-star Demar Derozan and Patrick Williams each scored 17 points.
Cam Thomas came off the bench to lead the Nets with 22 points. Seth Curry had 19 and Mikal Bridges scored 13.
Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-smith are trying to integrate as starters for the Nets, who acquired them earlier this month in the trades of Allstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The Bulls scored the first 11 points, built a 34-point lead at the half and thoroughly dominated the sloppy and cold-shooting Nets in the first game for both teams since the Allstar break.
The Bulls outshot the Nets 56.8% to 37% from the floor, dominated in the paint and out-rebounded them 57-31.