Giannis Antetokounmpo added 31 points to an overheated Damian Lillard's 45 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to victory in Detroit 141-135, and Sixers star Joel Embiid scored 33 points to dominate Charlotte 97-89 on Saturday in the NBA.
To discover
NBA: schedule and results
NBA Rankings
Against the Pistons last in the Western and Eastern Conferences combined with 38 defeats for only four victories, Lillard, who arrived from Portland during a pre-season exchange, delivered 11 assists.
“
When the match started, I felt like I warmed up well, had a good rhythm of play. I saw a few shots go in and I felt good
,” explained the All-leader. Star, who became the first player in Bucks history to score 40 or more points, deliver 10 or more assists and make five 3-pointers in the same game.
Greek star Antetokounmpo added 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and a blocked shot for Milwaukee, which improved to 29-13, three wins behind Eastern Conference-leading Boston.
Guard Alec Burks scored 33 points, hitting 7 of 14 3-pointers, for Detroit.
Reigning MVP Joel Embiid had his 20th consecutive game since mid-November with at least 30 points, scoring 33 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for Philadelphia in the victory in Charlotte.
The Cameroonian star of the Sixers had five assists and three blocked shots.
Opposite, Miles Bridges tried to carry the Hornets with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat Minnesota 102-97, bringing the visitors (29-13) within a game of the Timberwolves (30-12) for first place in the Western Conference.
Popovich praises “Wemby”
A 3-point shot from “
SGA
” with 74 seconds remaining allowed the Thunder to take a 96-94 advantage.
Frenchman Rudy Gobert then made a free throw for Minnesota, but Jalen Williams made four free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the victory for Oklahoma City.
Jalen Brunson scored 38 points, while Julius Randle added a triple-double with 18 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for the Knicks in New York's 126-100 home win over Toronto.
New French star Victor Wembanyama scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds, blocked six shots and distributed four assists to help the San Antonio Spurs beat Washington 131-127.
The No. 1 of the 2023 draft and his team, last in the West, signed an eighth success (for 34 losses), against the penultimate franchise in the East.
“
His whole game was fantastic
,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich nevertheless said of Wembanyama.
“
His rebounding, his shooting - it's not a pretty sight but he goes further than most of our guys.
He does a hell of a job in many ways at both ends of the field
,” praised “
Pop
”.
Turkish center Alperen Sengun scored 37 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz at home 127-126 in overtime.
Sengun's two free throws with 20 seconds left sent the game into overtime at 115-115 and his 3-pointer with 52 seconds left saw the Rockets tie the game at 126-126.
Jabari Smith gave Houston the lead with a free throw and Jordan Clarkson, who had until then carried the Jazz with 33 points, missed a final shot.