Milwaukee Bucks of America star, Giannis Adetokunbo (Antetokounmpo) netted 47 points but they were not enough to save his team from falling 125-124 to Phoenix Suns in a very tigjht game of USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) league, megasportsarena.com reports.
While ‘The Greek Freak’ top scored for The Bucks and the Nigerian-born Greece international went on a roll all through the minutes he spent on the court, his efforts fell short, as The Suns won their fourth match in a row thanks to Devin Booker’s 30 points and 28 from Chris Paul.
Milwaukee, who had won their last five games, found themselves eight points down with 2:30 to go but drew level at 124-124 when Antetokounmpo dunked with less than a minute to play, but Booker then shot one of his free throws with 32 seconds to play which turned out to be the difference.
Same night in the NBA, Dallas Mavericks also won by the narrowest of margins, with their late rally seeing off Atlanta Hawks 118-117, during which Luka Doncic had 28 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, but Danilo Gallinari missed a jump shot with 0.9 seconds left which would have sealed the win for Atlanta.
Los Angeles Lakers needed overtime to eke out a 114-113 win over Oklahoma City Thunder, as LeBron James hit a late three-pointer to force the extra five minutes and had a steal with 3.3 seconds left in overtime to seal the win.
Brooklyn Nets went into the half 62-30 up and stayed the course for a 104-94 win over Indiana Pacers, making it their first win in four, with Kyrie Irving scoring 35, while Zach LaVine scored 46 as Chicago Bulls swept past New Orleans Pelicans 129-116.
Denver Nuggets dominated Cleveland Cavaliers 133-95, Kawhi Leonard hit 36 points for the Los Angeles Clippers in their 119-112 win over Minnesota Timberwolves, but Charlotte Hornets were downed by Memphis Grizzlies 130-114 and Toronto Raptors finished strong in a 137-115 triumph over Washington Wizards.
Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points as Utah Jazz recorded their fifth consecutive victory with a 122-108 win over Boston Celtics, and they have now won 16 of their last 17 matches, with Joe Ingles’ season-high 24 points helping them to a straightforward victory.
In contrast, the result marked Celtics’ third loss in four matches; while Jerami Grant recorded a career-best 32 points as Detroit Pistons condemned Brooklyn Nets to their third straight defeat, during which Kevin Durant was sidelined for The Nets due to six days in quarantine after being exposed to someone with Covid-19.
Although James Harden hit 24 points for The Nets, they were not enough to overcome a slow start, as Detroit ended a four-match losing streak with a 122-111 win; while Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Seth Curry all starred as Philadelphia 76ers got a 119-111 victory against Sacramento Kings.
Embiid (with 25 points) as well as Harris and Curry (both on 22) contributed to 76ers’ sixth win in their last seven outings, even as The Kings took a 99-97 lead but Shake Milton hauled his side level before Harris and Milton both hit three-pointers to put Philadelphia on course for victory.
Jimmy Butler racked up 26 points in Miami Heat’s 98-96 win against New York Knicks, though RJ Barrett had the opportunity to tie the match with the game’s final play, but he missed his layup with Miami sealing a third straight win for the first time this season.
Stephen Curry continued his impressive streak to inspire Golden State Warriors to a 114-91 win against San Antonio Spurs, as he netted four of his 10 three-point attempts en route to scoring 32 points and ending The Spurs’ three-game winning streak.
Josh Hart scored 20 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in New Orleans Pelicans’ 130-101 over Houston Rockets, while Damian Lillard hit 36 points as Portland Trail Blazers extended their winning streak over Orlando Magic to eight games with a 106-97 triumph.
