Milwaukee Hands Chicago Loss, NBA Scores

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Published on January 13 2016 6:45 am
Last Updated on January 13 2016 6:45 am

After being held to single digits in back-to-back games, Giannis Antetokounmpo broke out of his scoring slump.

Antetokounmpo connected on 10 of 14 shots, hit key free throws down the stretch and scored 29 points, tying his second-best career performance, in sparking the Milwaukee Bucks past the Chicago Bulls 106-101 on Tuesday night.

"I was just trying to be aggressive and make plays" Antetokounmpo said.

Antetokounmpo also contributed 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

"That's what we need from him," said Greg Monroe, who added 17 points and 12 rebounds for Milwaukee. "He's at his best when he's attacking the rim and getting into the lane."

Turnovers played a big part in the outcome. Milwaukee scored 30 points off of 17 Chicago turnovers. The Bucks had just five turnovers, easily besting the team's previous season-low of 10.

"We took care of the ball. We were strong with it," Milwaukee's interim head coach Joe Prunty said. "The effort we made to take care of it was outstanding."

It marked the team's lowest turnover total in a regular season game since committing four against Atlanta on April 12, 2010.

"The turnovers were big. That's the game," said Jimmy Butler, who scored 30 points to lead Chicago. "There's nothing else to say."


Pacers 116, Suns 97

The road woes continue for the Phoenix Suns, and Paul George and the Indiana Pacers took advantage of a team struggling to find ways to win.

George got hot late and a balanced scoring attack propelled the Pacers to a 116-97 home win Tuesday over Suns. He scored nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as the Pacers took a close game and turned it into a blowout by outscoring Phoenix 36-21 in the final 12 minutes. Monta Ellis scored 12 of his 14 points in the third quarter to give Indiana (22-16) a 1-2 punch in the second half.

"We just didn't let up," George said. "We got some stops. We got some steals. We played with a faster tempo."

The game featured a 22-minute stoppage with 4:32 left in the second quarter when the lights briefly went out inside the arena. And when the lights went off, Phoenix (13-27) lost the momentum it had gained after falling behind early.

A brief power outage in Indianapolis caused the outer bank of lights to turn off.

Leading 36-34 at the time and in the midst of a 23-9 run, Phoenix came out of the break flat. The Pacers caught fire and finished the half with an 18-6 spurt that gave them a 52-42 halftime advantage.


Tuesday, January 12 Scoreboard
    
Indiana 116, Phoenix 97

San Antonio 109, Detroit 99

New York 120, Boston 114

Houston 107, Memphis 91
    
Milwaukee 106, Chicago 101

Oklahoma City 101, Minnesota 96

Cleveland 110, Dallas 107 (OT)
    
Los Angeles 95, New Orleans 91


Wednesday, January 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

Atlanta at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Milwaukee at Washington, 6 p.m.

New York at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.

Indiana at Boston, 7 p.m.

Minnesota at Houston, 7 p.m.

Dallas at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Golden State at Denver, 8 p.m.

Utah at Portland, 9 p.m.

New Orleans at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

Miami at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.