LOS ANGELES, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Damian Lillard scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and came up with two late steals as the Milwaukee Bucks bounced back from a loss to NBA leaders Boston with a 115-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
Lillard added 12 assists and Milwaukee’s two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a two-game injury absence to score 21 points with nine rebounds and five assists to help the Bucks grind out a win on the second night of a back-to-back.
Lillard was key on both ends of the floor. It was tied at 96-96 with less than five minutes remaining when he poked the ball away from driving Brooklyn guard Cam Thomas, launching a fast break capped by a three-point play by Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee were up 103-101 with 1:41 to play when Lillard grabbed another steal and found Malik Beasley for a three-pointer.
Lillard drained a three-pointer himself with 1:11 remaining and his trey with 41 seconds to go pushed Milwaukee’s lead to 10 points.
“Dame, defensively, was phenomenal — all game,” Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s a very competitive guy and you could see that tonight.”
Antetokounmpo, who had missed two games with hamstring trouble, scored nine points in the first quarter as the Bucks took a 26-19 lead.
They led by as many as 20 in the first half before the Nets, led by 24 points from Mikal Bridges, worked their way back.
“I like how we kind of gathered ourselves,” Rivers said. “They took the lead, we came back and got stops. We didn’t play well the beginning of the third.
“The first half, the ball was hopping. It was beautiful. And then we kind of went back to that hold-the-ball, no-movement style,” Rivers added. “We had to play ourselves through that.”
The defending champion Denver Nuggets continued their late-season surge with a 113-100 home victory over the New York Knicks and Luka Doncic and the Mavericks put on a show in a 113-97 victory over the Utah Jazz in Dallas.
Michael Porter Jr. connected on 13 of 16 shots to score 31 points for Denver, his highlight reel night including an alley-oop pass to himself off the glass.
Nikola Jokic delivered his 22nd triple-double of the season with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.
– ‘We owed them’ –
The Nuggets, 13-2 since the All-Star break, are neck and neck with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the race for first place in the West.
“I think we all collectively realize we’re not going to be able to turn it on in the playoffs so we’re trying to get our rhythm, get our flow before then,” Porter said of the Nuggets’ sense of urgency.
Denver were also eager to avenge an embarrassing 38-point loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden in January.
“We felt like we owed them from the last game in New York,” Porter said.
Jalen Brunson scored 26 points for the Knicks, who cut a 12-point deficit to two in the fourth quarter before Denver coach Michael Malone sent his starters back in and the Nuggets pulled away.
In Dallas, Doncic scored 34 points with nine rebounds and eight assists and the Mavs threw down 18 dunks on the way to a third straight victory.
In Orlando, Magic forward Paolo Banchero scored 20 points with 10 rebounds and 11 assists, his second career triple-double helping the hosts to a 121-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Magic notched their fifth straight win. In addition to absorbing the defeat, the Pelicans saw forward Brandon Ingram depart early in the second half with an apparent knee injury.
