NBA roundup: Antetokounmpo's triple-double carries Bucks to sixth straight win - pressherald.com

kmatabunga.blogspot.com

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks tries to drive past Willy Hernangomez of the Pelicans during Milwaukee’s 136-113 win Saturday night. Morry Gash/Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 35 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double of the season and the Milwaukee Bucks won their sixth straight game, beating the New Orleans Pelicans 136-113 on Saturday night.

In four games since returning from COVID-19 protocols that caused him to miss five games, Antetokounmpo has averaged 33 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists.

The two-time MVP got his 10th assist by finding Grayson Allen for a 3-pointer that put the Bucks ahead 117-97 with 6:55 left. Antetokounmpo hit a 3-pointer 26 seconds later.

Antetokounmpo’s other triple-double this season came Dec. 12, when he had 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in a 112-97 victory over the New York Knicks.

New Orleans’ Josh Hart narrowly missed a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

BULLS 120, WIZARDS 119: DeMar DeRozan hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the second straight game to give the Chicago a win at Washington.

Kyle Kuzma’s 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds to play gave Washington a 119-117 lead, but DeRozan beat the Wizards in the same way he beat Indiana on Friday night.

DeRozan finished with 28 points and Zach LaVine had 35 points to help the Bulls to their seventh straight win, which is their longest streak since Dec. 18-29, 2014.

PISTONS 117, SPURS 116: Saddiq Bey hit a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in overtime and finished with 21 points, leading Detroit to a win over visiting San Antonio.

Hamidou Diallo had 34 points and 13 rebounds to lead Detroit, which had lost four in a row and 18 of its last 19 games.

Bryn Forbes came off the bench to score 27 points for the Spurs, who lost their third straight game.

CLIPPERS 120, NETS 116: Eric Bledsoe scored a season-high 27 points and short-handed Los Angeles, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, rallied to beat the Brooklyn in New York.

Terance Mann and Reggie Jackson added 19 points apiece for the Clippers, who were coached for the second straight night by assistant Brian Shaw, with Coach Tyronn Lue in health and safety protocols.

They were missing much more than their coach. With Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Nicolas Batum injured and Ivica Zubac and Luke Kennard in COVID-19 protocols, the Clippers were without much of what would be their normal starting lineup. They also didn’t play Marcus Morris Sr., who got the night off after scoring 20 points Friday in a loss at Toronto.

But they were good enough to beat the Nets, who wasted James Harden’s seventh triple-double of the season.

Harden finished with 34 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. Kevin Durant added 28 points and nine rebounds, but the Nets fell to 0-2 since he returned from a three-game absence in health and safety protocols.

NOTES

COVID-19: Another G League referee was called up by the NBA to work a game on Saturday and another head coach entered the league’s health and safety protocols, on a day where the number of players on the list dropped considerably.

Ref Sha’Rae Mitchell was assigned the San Antonio-Detroit game. She becomes the fourth G League referee called up in a span of two days – three others worked games on Friday – and is now the 15th woman in league history picked to work a regular-season game.

But there were signs that the league may be starting a return to normalcy. By Saturday evening, the number of players in the protocols had dropped back below the 100 mark after rising to around 125 earlier in the week.

A significant number of head coaches, however, remain unable to be at games: Atlanta’s Nate McMillan went into the protocols Saturday, the eighth head coach currently on that list and the 11th to deal with a virus-related issue already this season.

Los Angeles Lakers Coach Frank Vogel rejoined his team Friday after a six-game absence and said it was a strain both mentally and physically.

“It’s something I really never want to do again,” Vogel said.

Comments are not available on this story.

« Previous

Saturday’s high school roundup: Cheverus doubles up Portland/Deering