DETROIT (AP) Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 20 of his 29 first-quarter points, returning to the lineup after missing five games to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 150-130 win over the Detroit Pistons Monday night.
Three-time All-Star MVP was joined by Chris Middleton, putting the prolific Bucks duo in the same lineup for the first time in over a month.
Antetokounmpo had left knee pain. Middleton, who has not played since Dec. 15 due to a sore right knee, has eight points and four assists, the Associated Press reports.
The Bucks scored 49 points in the first quarter, two short of the NBA record, and led Detroit by 25 after Antetokounmpo executed all six of their shots in just over eight minutes.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 33 points and freshman Jalen Durin scored 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons, who won the Eastern Conference in 12 games and are ahead of only Houston in the league standings.
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ORLANDO, FL (AP) Paolo Panchero scored 23 points, Jonathan Isaacs played in an NBA game for the first time in two and a half years, and Orlando broke Boston’s nine-game winning streak.
Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 26 points each for the Celtics, who managed only three points after Tatum’s three-pointer cut Orlando’s lead to 97-95 with 6:20 remaining.
Wendell Carter, Jr. scored 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic victory. Cole Anthony came off the bench with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Isaac has missed 211 games since shredding an NBA in the NBA restart at Walt Disney World on August 2, 2020. He finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two steals, playing about 9 1/2 minutes.
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Memphis, Tenn. (AP) Trey Lyles scored a season-high 24 points while Harrison Barnes scored 15 of his 20 in the first quarter for Sacramento and the Kings scored a short-handed win over Memphis.
The Kings tied the NBA record with 12 first-quarter three-pointers on just 13 attempts and scored 47 points. But Sacramento didn’t leave the game until it beat Memphis, 33-10, in the fourth quarter.
Lyles was 6-for-8 from a 3-point range for the Kings (27-19), who have won seven of their last eight games.
Domantas Sabonis finished with 14 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds to complete his first triple-double of the season. Keegan Murray also finished with 20 points, and Daron Fox had 17 points and 10 assists.
Desmond Bean scored 21 points for Memphis (31-16), which played without Ja Morant and Stephen Adams. The Grizzlies have lost three in a row after 11 straight games.
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HOUSTON (AP) Jalen Green scored a career-high 42 points as Houston held on to beat Minnesota and snap a 13-game losing streak.
Green, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, had 21 points by halftime and continued his solid play in the second half to lead the Rockets to their first win since Dec. 26 in Chicago. They ended their longest skid of the season and also a 10-game losing streak, winning at home for the first time since December 13 against Phoenix.
Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and D’Angelo Russell tied a season-high 30 for the Timberwolves, who won by two straight points.
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Chicago (AP) DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points in his 1,000th game, Nikola Vucevic added 14 points and 17 rebounds as Chicago beat Atlanta.
The Bulls returned to Chicago with a 126-108 victory over the Pistons in Paris on Thursday.
Trae Young scored 21 points and made 13 assists, while DeJonte Murray added 20 points for the Hawks, who lost two straight points after winning five straight points.
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Salt Lake City (AP) Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points as Utah beat Charlotte.
The Hornets made only 2 of 3-pointers, both by Terry Rozier, the fewest by an NBA team this season. Charlotte had 16 attempts outside the arc, shooting 12.5%, while the Jazz had 16 of 40. Charlotte’s previous low of the season was five attempts, most recently on December 3 in Milwaukee.
Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points and Mike Conley added 14 for the Jazz, who won three of four.
Rozier scored 23 points and Mason Plumley 18 as the Hornets were trying to win three straight games for the first time this season.
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PORTLAND, OR (AP) Damien Lillard scored 37 points and 12 assists as Portland beat San Antonio to snap their three-game losing streak.
Jusuf Nurkic added 25 points and 11 rebounds for the struggling Blazers, who had lost eight of their previous ten games.
Keldon Johnson scored 20 points for the Tottenham team, which has lost seven of its last eight games and is second to last in the Western Conference standings, narrowly behind the Houston Rockets.
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