Milwaukee Bucks of America star, Giannis Adetokunbo (Antetokounmpo) bounced back to winning ways with his side and enacted a personal revival in lading his side to victory in USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) league.
On a night all eyes were on the reigning NBA most valuable player to come good, Antetokounmpo scored 38 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 129-125 defeat of the lowly-ranked New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA on Thursday night.
Megasportsarena.com reports that The Bucks, who are currently third-placed in the Eastern Conference, had trouble shaking off the visitors, who are 11th in the West, only edging clear down the stretch after scores were level at the last break.
Antetokounmpo also grabbed 10 rebounds while Khris Middleton backed him up with 31 points, while The Pelicans were led by Zion Williamson’s 34 and Brandon Ingram’s 23, as The Bucks won their fourth straight game, while Donte DiVincenzo scored a career-high 24 points and Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis scored 12 each.
Brandon Ingram had 23, Lonzo Ball scored 20, Eric Bledsoe had 16 and Willy Hernangomez 10 to lead The Pelicans, who defeated The Bucks 131-126 on January 29 in New Orleans, and both teams shot 50 percent or better for the game, but Milwaukee outscored their foes 26-22 in the fourth quarter, the only period in which either team scored fewer than 30 points.
The Pelicans took a 123-120 lead before Antetokounmpo scored six points to help Milwaukee grab a 128-125 advantage with 1:19 left. New Orleans had a chance to tie with a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Ingram was called for an offensive foul and Antetokounmpo made one of two free throws, while Williamson finished with 24 points for the highest-scoring first half of his two-year career, as Kyrie Irving had 27 points and nine assists as Brooklyn Nets extended their winning streak to eight games with a crushing 129-92 win over visiting Orlando Magic.
James Harden scored 20 points alongside nine rebounds as the East’s second side took their record to 22-12 while continuing their longest winning run since moving from New Jersey to Brooklyn in 2012.
The streak is all the more impressive considering Kevin Durant was missing for his sixth straight game due to a hamstring injury, while Nikola Vucevic had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the 13-20 Magic, while Memphis Grizzlies scored a 122-94 home win over Los Angeles Clippers, with Tyus Jones scoring a career-high 20 points from the bench.
Dillon Brooks contributed 19 points for Memphis and Jonas Valanciunas and Ja Morant 16 each, with Valanciunas adding 15 rebounds, as Memphis restricted The Clippers’ big guns, with Kawhi Leonard held to just 17 points and Paul George making 13 in a three-from-12 shooting night.
Same night in the NBA, Philadelphia 76ers won 111-97 at home to Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks beat visiting Sacramento Kings 140-121, and Washington Wizards won 112-110 at Denver Nuggets.
