[ad_1]
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Not even the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo could cool down the Milwaukee Bucks.
Damian Lillard scored 41 points and the Bucks rallied to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 113-106 on Monday night for their sixth straight victory. Antetokounmpo watched from the bench with tendonitis in his left Achilles tendon as the two-time MVP missed his third game of the season.
“I think it just shows who we’re becoming,” Lillard said.
The Bucks are undefeated since the All-Star break as they prepare to begin a four-game trip to California that begins Wednesday at Golden State and includes a rematch with the Clippers on Sunday. It’s an impressive turnaround for a team that entered the break 3-7 in new coach Doc Rivers’ first 10 games.
The Bucks won without Antetokounmpo on Monday just as they have been winning without three-time All-Star Khris Middleton, who missed his 11th straight game with a sprained left ankle.
“Nobody was talking about who wasn’t playing before the game,” Lillard said. “It was literally like we were in the locker room, Doc didn’t come in and say, ‘Okay, Giannis is out. Khris is out. It was like we went in there, talked about the scouting report and what we had to do to win the game, and that was it. “I think that shows what is expected, the standard we are starting to have and who we are becoming as a team.”
James Harden and Paul George each scored 29 points for the Clippers, who ran out of gas down the stretch while playing one night after a Victory 89-88 in Minnesota. Kawhi Leonard added 16 points.
The Bucks trailed by 13 points in the final minute of the third quarter, but won by outscoring the Clippers 23-10 in the final five minutes.
“When they went to that zone, I think we were a little happy with the jump shot instead of continuing to attack the basket and get into the paint,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “I think we were in the bonus pretty early in the last quarter. “They did a good job going to the zone and then we didn’t handle it well.”
Bobby Portis scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and finished with a season-high 16 rebounds. He became the first NBA player this season to have at least 25 points and 15 rebounds off the bench.
“The guys needed to step up in their roles,” Portis said. “I feel like it was one of those moments where I had to step up and be a little more aggressive than I probably was before.”
Patrick Beverly added 12 points and sparked the winning rally. His 3-pointer tied the game at 96 with 4:33 left.
On the Clippers’ next possession, Beverley stole the ball to set up Lillard’s layup with 4:10 remaining that gave the Bucks their first lead since the first period.
After Brook Lopez blocked Leonard’s layup attempt, AJ Green hit a deep three-pointer to make the score 101-96. Portis scored the final four points of the 15-0 run that put the Bucks ahead for good.
The Clippers cut the lead to five with 1:31 left, but Portis scored five straight points and the Bucks never looked back.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Clippers: Visit the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Bucks: They begin a four-game road trip Wednesday at Golden State.
___
NBA AP: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
[ad_2]
Source link