By Field Level Media
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Giannis Antetokounmpo led six Milwaukee scorers in double-figure scoring with 29 points and the Bucks cruised to a 132-117 road win over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

Milwaukee trailed 57-50 with 4:50 remaining before halftime, but Gary Trent Jr.’s 3-pointer off an Antetokounmpo assist began a 21-6 Bucks run to send the visitors into the locker room up 71-63.

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Trent scored 13 of his 20 points coming off the bench in the first half.

Milwaukee’s burst to close out the second quarter carried over into the third when the Bucks went on another 10-2 over the first 2:41 of the second half.

The undermanned Mavericks could not keep pace as Milwaukee’s advantage swelled to as many as 23 points. Behind Kyrie Irving’s game-high 31 points, Dallas cut into the deficit down the stretch in the fourth quarter but could not get any closer than 12 points.

The Mavericks remained thin in the frontcourt with Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford all sidelined. Moses Brown, playing in the last game of his 10-day contract, nearly posted his second double-double in as many contests, going for 18 points and nine rebounds.

Brown shot 8 of 9 from the floor. Jaden Hardy, who came off the Mavericks bench for 16 points, went 6-for-10 from the floor.

Dallas shot 43 of 91 from the field as a team, not far off Milwaukee’s 44-of-87 shooting. However, the Bucks went 31 of 35 at the free-throw line to the Mavericks’ 20-of-25 showing.

Milwaukee also hit two more 3-pointers, going 13 of 39 to Dallas’ 11 of 40. Trent and Damian Lillard each went 4-for-12 from long range to pace the Bucks.

Lillard finished with 28 points, six rebounds and six assists. Brook Lopez added 13 points, Kevin Porter Jr. scored 11 points off the bench and Kyle Kuzma chipped in 10.

Antetokounmpo flirted with a triple-double, complementing his team scoring high with nine rebounds and nine assists.

76ers halt losing skid as Quentin Grimes drops career-high 44 points vs. Warriors

Quentin Grimes scored a career-high 44 points on 18-of-24 shooting as the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 126-119 home victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

Guerschon Yabusele made five 3-pointers en route to 18 points for Philadelphia, which played its first game since announcing that Joel Embiid (knee) would miss the remainder of the season.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had 20 points for the Sixers and Paul George scored 17, while Tyrese Maxey dished out 11 assists while shooting 2-of-14 for five points.

Stephen Curry recorded 29 points and 13 assists to pace the Warriors, who had won their previous five games. Golden State played without Jimmy Butler (back) for the first time since acquiring him in a trade with the Miami Heat last month.

Amid an offensive explosion by Grimes, the Sixers led by 13 points early in the fourth quarter.

Golden State rattled off nine straight points to get within 109-108. Included in that burst was a transition dunk by Curry — his first slam in more than six years.

However, Yabusele hit a big 3-pointer with just over four minutes left then made another with a minutes and a half remaining to put Philadelphia ahead 121-116.

George provided the dagger with a pull-up jumper with 42 seconds left.

Curry and Grimes each scored 12 first-quarter points as the teams were tied at 30 after one period.

Philadelphia began to create some separation late in the second quarter as Oubre scored nine points in less than a minute to help the hosts take a 50-39 lead. The Sixers went on to lead 67-55 at halftime as Grimes drained a 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer.

Grimes then erupted for 18 points in the third quarter, and it could have been more had he not gone 1-of-5 from the free throw line. He scored 10 quick points early in the third to help the Sixers take their largest lead, 79-64.

Curry and the Warriors whittled their deficit to within 94-90 late in the third before Grimes’ bucket sent the Sixers into the final period with a six-point cushion.

De’Aaron Fox hits winner as Spurs edge Grizzlies

De’Aaron Fox capped a back-and-forth affair with a tiebreaking 20-footer with 2.1 seconds remaining Saturday night, allowing the visiting San Antonio Spurs to complete a 130-128 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Fox finished with 20 points, as did Devin Vassell, and Stephon Castle had a team-high 24 off the bench for the Spurs, who won for just the second time in six games since Victor Wembanyama was lost for the season with a shoulder injury.

Jaren Jackson Jr. had a game-high 42 points for the Grizzlies, who lost a second straight nail-biter and dropped into a tie for third place in the Western Conference standings.

Fighting an uphill battle after the Spurs exploded for 46 points in the second quarter, the Grizzlies finally drew even at 125-all on a short Jackson jumper with 49.8 seconds left.

Fox seemed to put San Antonio back in control with three free throws with 29.1 seconds to go but Jackson struck again, this time with a 3-pointer that produced a 128-128 tie with 23.4 seconds remaining.

That left San Antonio with one more possession and Fox made the most of it, stepping back for a jumper that produced the difference in the game.

Electing to sit Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Brandon Clarke and Vince Williams Jr. on the second night of a back-to-back, the Grizzlies watched San Antonio’s 46 second-quarter points create a 77-58 difference at the break. Jeremy Sochan had 11 of his 18 points in the quarter for the Spurs.

But the short-handed hosts appeared to catch their breath at halftime and roared back with a 38-point quarter of their own, closing within 99-96 at the end of the third and setting up the tight finish. Jackson had 18 points in the third period.

All four Spurs reserves who saw action scored in double figures, with Keldon Johnson chipping in with 15 points and Julian Champagnie 14 points to go with Castle’s and Sochan’s totals. Sochan also found time to complete a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds.

Chris Paul added eight points and a team-high eight assists for the winners.

The Grizzlies’ Santi Aldama also posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists to go with eight rebounds, while Jaylen Wells had 18 points, Zach Edey 17 with a team-high nine rebounds, Luke Kennard scored 14 and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 12.

Edey, who made all seven of his shots, also had three blocks.

Balanced scoring pushes Kings past Rockets

DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine combined for 41 points as the visiting Sacramento Kings rode a balanced offensive attack to a 113-103 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

Six Kings players scored in double figures as the team completed a sweep of the three-game season series with Houston. The Kings overcame the loss of center Domantas Sabonis to a left hamstring injury just over a minute into the game by shooting 50.6 percent from the field.

Jonas Valanciunas replaced Sabonis and produced 15 points, 14 rebounds and four steals. Malik Monk added 16 points and Keegan Murray posted 13. Keon Ellis chipped in 12 off the bench.

DeRozan (21 points, six assists) and LaVine (20 points, six rebounds) worked in tandem to confound the Houston defense. The Rockets trailed by 16 points midway through the first quarter and rallied to secure the lead in the second, only for DeRozan or LaVine to fashion responses to keep Houston at bay.

Alperen Sengun collected 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Rockets, while Jalen Green added 24 points. Guard Fred VanVleet returned after missing 11 games due to an ankle injury, and he tallied three points on 1-for-8 shooting in 35 minutes. The Rockets committed 16 turnovers.

The Kings turned a 15-0 run into a 19-3 lead while the Rockets opened the game shooting 1 for 12. Houston fashioned a 14-3 rally to work back into contention, with Jabari Smith Jr. capping the quarter with a transition dunk that cut the Sacramento lead to 25-21 entering the second.

LaVine, Trey Lyles and Jake LaRavia opened the second period with 3-pointers that helped the Kings extend to a 40-31 lead.

The Rockets rallied behind Dillon Brooks, who combined a 3-pointer with two three-point plays that pulled Houston even at 51-51. When Brooks followed with a 3-pointer at the 3:11 mark, the Rockets led 54-51. Brooks finished with 12 points.

Sacramento reclaimed a 63-59 halftime lead and, after Houston closed to within 84-82 on a three-point play by Sengun, the Kings used a 13-3 run bridging the final two periods to seize control.

The Rockets missed their final five shots of the third while committing three turnovers, and when Sacramento opened the fourth with a 3-pointer by Ellis and a driving layup by DeRozan, the lead reached 96-85.

Pistons bounce back from loss to win 9th in 10

Jalen Duren powered for 18 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high six blocks and the host Detroit Pistons won for the ninth time in 10 games, downing the Brooklyn Nets 115-94 on Saturday night.

Detroit bounced back from a 15-point loss to Denver on Friday as Tobias Harris had 18 points and nine rebounds and Malik Beasley also scored 18. Beasley was ejected with 6:39 remaining after picking up his second technical foul.

Cade Cunningham tossed in 15 points with nine assists and Ausar Thompson added 13 points.

Tyrese Martin led the Nets with 23 points off the bench. Jalen Wilson had 14 points and Cameron Johnson added 13.

The Pistons jumped to a 39-22 lead by the end of the first quarter. Hardaway gave Detroit its first double digit lead at 14-4 with a 3-pointer. Beasley scored 14 points in the final five minutes of the quarter. He knocked down four 3-pointers during that span.

Brooklyn pulled within 11 at 41-30 on a pair of Martin free throws with 9:22 left in the first half but the Pistons scored the next six points, including another Beasley 3-pointer.

A three-point play from Harris with 5:53 left in the half upped Detroit’s advantage to 23, 56-33. Duren’s three-point play with 3:14 remaining in the quarter gave the Pistons their biggest lead of the half at 63-38.

The half ended with Detroit leading 68-45. Duren already had a double-double before the break with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Nets opened the second half with a 14-5 run to pull within 14 points.

Johnson’s 3-pointer with 2:47 left in the quarter cut Detroit’s lead to 81-69, igniting a 9-0 Brooklyn run to end the quarter. Martin’s layup moved the Nets within six points at 81-75.

Detroit’s Tim Hardaway Jr. opened the fourth with a 3-pointer. After the Nets cut their deficit to eight points with 8:18 to play, Detroit scored eight unanswered points to put the game away.

Cunningham knocked down a 3-pointer and Duren had a three-point play. Cunningham then set up Harris for a dunk. Cunningham’s three-point play with 5:56 remaining pushed the Pistons’ lead to 20.

Wizards post four-game season sweep of Hornets

Khris Middleton and Bilal Coulibaly both scored 17 points as the Washington Wizards won for just the second time in nine games, beating the host Charlotte Hornets 113-100 on Saturday night.

Eight players scored in double figures for Washington, with Richaun Holmes notching 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Corey Kispert had 13 points and Marcus Smart added 12.

Mark Williams had a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte. LaMelo Ball returned from another missed game and finished with 20 points.

Miles Bridges had 18 points and a team-high seven assists, Josh Green racked up 13 points and Nick Smith Jr. supplied 12 points for the Hornets, who lost their sixth consecutive game.

The Wizards have won 11 games, including a four-game season sweep against the 14-win Hornets.

Washington shot 45.5 percent from the field, draining 17 3-pointers. Of its 88 attempts from the field, 50 were from 3-point range. Eight Wizards made at least one 3-pointer, led by three apiece from Couilbaly, Bub Carrington and Kispert.

Washington also hit 16 of its 17 free-throw attempts.

Charlotte committed 17 turnovers in its first game following a 1-8 road trip.

The Wizards used a strong defensive effort in the third quarter, outscoring Charlotte 30-14 to grab an 84-73 lead.

The Hornets posted a 34-point second quarter for a 59-54 halftime lead. Bridges had 16 points by the break.

Williams shot 11 of 14 from the field, but Charlotte shot 44.1 percent from the field as a team and hit 4 of 6 free throws.

Ball shot 7 of 19 from the floor, making five of his 13 3-point attempts.

The Hornets got only 13 points from their reserves.