Giannis drops 46 in Bucks’ comeback win; Rockets outlast Celtics
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 46 points and 12 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Sacramento Kings 133-124 on Monday night.
Khris Middleton scored 31 points and Brook Lopez added 23 for the Bucks, who are on the verge of becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season. They came in needing a win and a Miami loss, but the Heat beat Utah, AP reported.
Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists for his 10th triple-double of the season for Sacramento. Sabonis has a franchise-record 54 double-doubles, which leads the NBA.
De’Aaron Fox scored 35 points to lead the Kings, and Kevin Huerter had 17 of his 28 in the fourth quarter.
The Bucks scored six straight points on a 3-pointer by Lopez and three free throws by Middleton to take a 106-100 lead with under eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Sacramento scored the next eight points and took a two-point lead on Huerter’s 3 midway through the quarter.
Antetokounmpo made two free throws to cap a 7-0 run that put Milwaukee up 113-108 with five minutes to go, and the Kings got no closer than two points the rest of the way. Another 7-0 burst push the lead to 127-116 with two minutes left.
“It’s unfortunate,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think it was a great game. I was so impressed by Sacramento and the way they play. I’m not going to say anything about what did or didn’t happen.”
Elsewhere, Jalen Green scored 28 points and rookie Jabari Smith Jr. added 24 as the Houston Rockets withstood a late charge to beat the Boston Celtics 111-109.
The Rockets, who are tied with Detroit for the NBA’s fewest wins with 16, snapped a three-game skid despite allowing the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown to score a season-high 43 points.
Boston, which is second in the Eastern Conference, trailed by 11 with about 4 1/2 minutes to go before using a late run to get within striking distance. Brown made two free throws to cut Houston’s lead to one with less than a minute left.
Kenyon Martin Jr. missed a 3-point attempt after that but grabbed his own rebound. Green was fouled with 10 seconds to go and made both free throws.