NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo lifts Bucks over Bulls

Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 46 points, 16 rebounds and six assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 113-97 victory over the host Chicago Bulls on Friday night.

Antetokounmpo shot 16-for-22 while reaching the 40-point mark for the eighth time this season. Patrick Beverley scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter and fueled his team’s decisive spurt as the Bucks won their fifth consecutive game.

Damian Lillard added 16 points and seven assists but was just 4 of 18 from the field for Milwaukee, which never trailed. Brook Lopez added 12 points and Bobby Portis had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Bucks.

Coby White paced Chicago with 22 points. Nikola Vucevic had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls before receiving a flagrant foul 2 and an ejection with 9:27 left in the game.

Ayo Dosunmu added 15 points, DeMar DeRozan had 12 points and nine assists and Alex Caruso scored 11 points for Chicago, which made 41.9 percent of its field-goal attempts and was 11 of 27 (40.7 percent) from behind the arc.

The Bucks shot 43 percent from the field, including 15 of 46 (32.6 percent) from 3-point range.

Antetokounmpo scored 15 third-quarter points on 7-of-8 shooting, but Milwaukee’s 14-point halftime lead dropped to 10 by the end of the period.

Antetokounmpo drained a 3-pointer to give the Bucks a 73-58 advantage with 5:43 remaining in the third, and his dunk two minutes later made it 80-64. However, Chicago finished the period with an 8-2 run to cut its deficit to 82-72.

The Bulls were within 84-76 after two free throws by White with 11:07 left before Beverley scored 10 points during Milwaukee’s knockout-punch 17-0 burst.

Early during the run, AJ Green drove from the left toward the basket and Vucevic pounded him to the ground. The play was reviewed, and the officials decided it was excessive conduct and upgraded the foul to end Vucevic’s night.

Green made both free throws to boost Milwaukee’s lead to 90-76. Beverley took over with two treys and two 2-pointers as the Bucks increased the margin to 25 with 6:48 left.

Antetokounmpo had 23 points and eight rebounds in the first half as Milwaukee led 58-44 at the break. Vucevic scored 15 in the half for Chicago.

The Bucks used a 17-4 run in the first quarter to open up a 15-point lead before Chicago trimmed its deficit to 33-24 at the end of the quarter.

–Field Level Media/Reuters