NBA: Milwaukee Bucks breeze past Orlando Magic
Antetokounmpo, the two-time defending NBA MVP, showed no sign of the back spasms that forced him out of the Bucks win over Cleveland on Saturday, adding six rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots
Los Angeles: Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo shook off foul trouble to score 13 of his 22 points in the second half Monday as the Bucks pulled away for a 121-99 NBA victory over the Magic in Orlando.
Antetokounmpo, the two-time defending NBA Most Valuable Player, showed no sign of the back spasms that forced him out of the Bucks win over Cleveland on Saturday, adding six rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.
Khris Middleton scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Bobby Portis chipped in 20 points off the bench as the Bucks notched their fifth win in six games. It was a tight finish in Portland, where CJ McCollum scored 30 points, including the game-winning pull-up jumper with 9.9 seconds remaining to give the host Trail Blazers a 112-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
In Charlotte, Gordon Hayward scored 28 of his game-high 34 points in the first quarter to fuel the Hornets’ 109-88 victory over the New York Knicks. The Hornets notched their fourth straight victory — longer than any streak they put together last season.
The Washington Wizards notched their first home win of the season, downing the Phoenix Suns 128-107. The ongoing pandemic was having an effect on the young season, with Monday’s game between the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans postponed, along with a scheduled Tuesday clash between the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls.
The latest postponements will make for three straight days of lost games, after Miami’s matchup with the Celtics in Boston on Sunday was called off because the Heat were unable to field a minimum eight players due to Covid-19 issues.
Some of the enforced absences were due to positive or inconclusive Covid-19 tests, and others to the league’s stringent contact tracing and isolation of possibly exposed players. The Philadelphia 76ers, among the teams feeling the pinch with five players sidelined by coronavirus protocols, endured a third straight defeat, 112-94 to the Hawks in Atlanta.
