Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his second triple-double in as many games with 33 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, and eight Bucks scored in double-figures as Milwaukee survived against the Washington Wizards, 125-119, on Saturday in Washington D.C.
The Wizards played without All-Star Bradley Beal, the league’s leading scorer who sat out the second leg of Washington’s weekend back-to-back due to a knee injury. But teammate Russell Westbrook picked up the slack.
Westbrook matched Antetokounmpo with a triple-double, posting 42 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, and led the Wizards with an energetic first half. They took a 12-point lead in the second quarter before Milwaukee battled back.
Westbrook and Antetokounmpo became the sixth pair of opponents to drop 30-plus point triple-doubles in NBA history.
New York Knicks 119 – Oklahoma City Thunder 97
R.J. Barrett scored a career-high 32 points and Julius Randle had a triple-double to lead visiting New York to a win over Oklahoma City.
Randle helped the Knicks take control, scoring 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to help New York extend a 10-point lead to as many as 26 points. Randle also had 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his second triple-double of the season and eighth of his career.
The Thunder were without a pair of starters. Point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed the game with a left quad contusion and Darius Bazley sat out his second consecutive game with a left shoulder contusion.
Brooklyn Nets 100 – Detroit Pistons 95
James Harden hit a tie-breaking layup with 97 seconds remaining while posting another triple-double of 24 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, as Brooklyn withstood a late challenge in a victory over Detroit at New York.
Harden’s ninth triple-double with the Nets, and clutch plays in the final minutes, helped Brooklyn improve to 12-1 since a 122-111 loss at Detroit on Feb. 9. Kyrie Irving added 18 points for the Nets, who shot 48.1 percent from the field and overcame a 6-of-27 night from 3-point range.
Jerami Grant led the Pistons with 22 points but was scoreless in the fourth. Delon Wright and Bey chipped in 13 points for the Pistons, who shot 40.4 percent and missed 24 of 32 tries from 3-point range, including 19 consecutive misses at one point.
Indiana Pacers 122 – Phoenix Suns 111
Malcolm Brogdon scored 25 points while Doug McDermott and Domantas Sabonis added 22 apiece to lead Indiana past host Phoenix. Sabonis added 13 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals for his fifth triple-double of the season.
Myles Turner scored 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and contributed eight rebounds and four blocked shots for Indiana. Caris LeVert added 13 points in his Indiana debut as the Pacers won for just the second time in the past eight games.
Devin Booker registered 20 points and seven assists, and Dario Saric scored 17 points, but the Suns had a five-game winning streak halted and lost for just the fourth time in 21 games.
Charlotte Hornets 114 – Toronto Raptors 104
LaMelo Ball scored a game-high 23 points and helped Charlotte set multiple franchise records for 3-pointers in beating visiting Toronto, picking up its fourth win in the past five games.
Ball shot 6-of-9 from 3-point range and added nine rebounds and six assists. The Hornets, who shot 21-for-49 from 3-point range, scored 31 of the game’s first 40 points and set franchise records for most 3-pointers in a half (16) and in a first quarter (11).
Toronto dropped its sixth game in its past seven and were again missing Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw due to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols. Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Dallas Mavericks 116 – Denver Nuggets 103
Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points, Luka Doncic had 21 points and 12 assists, and visiting Dallas beat Denver.
Josh Richardson finished with 20 points, Jalen Brunson scored 12 points and Dorian Finney-Smith had 11 for Dallas, which bounced back from a loss at Oklahoma City on Thursday night.
Nikola Jokic was two rebounds shy of a triple-double, finishing with 26 points and 11 assists for Denver. Will Barton and Michael Porter Jr. scored 23 each and Jamal Murray had 10 points for the Nuggets, who had their winning streak stopped at five games.
Portland Trail Blazers 125 – Minnesota Timberwolves 121
Carmelo Anthony scored eight of his team-high 26 points in an early fourth-quarter run that allowed Portland to rally past Minnesota in the opener of a two-game set in Minneapolis.
Anthony’s 26 were his second-most this season. Teammate Damian Lillard was right behind with 25 points while also completing a double-double with a game-high 10 assists for Portland. Enes Kanter also had a double-double with 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns had a game-high 34 points to go with a team-high 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, and Anthony Edwards went for 21 points.
Atlanta Hawks 121 – Sacramento Kings 106
Trae Young and Clint Capela combined for 52 points to lift Atlanta to a victory over visiting Sacramento, extending its winning streak to a season-long four games.
Young made five 3-pointers and scored 28 points with nine assists. Capela had 24 points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Sacramento was led by De’Aaron Fox with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Richaun Holmes added 20 points and 12 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
