Bucks muscle past Raptors again

Malcom Brogdon made two 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter, including the one for the go-ahead points with 40.7 seconds to play, and the visiting Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Toronto Raptors 104-99 on Sunday night.

Brogdon finished with 18 points for the Bucks, who have twice defeated the Raptors this season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 19 points and grabbed 19 rebounds for the Bucks and Brook Lopez also had 19 points while Khris Middleton and Tony Snell scored 10 each.

Serge Ibaka scored 22 points, Kawhi Leonard had 20, Fred Van Vleet scored 19 and Pascal Siakam added 17 for the Raptors, who have lost two in a row.

Kyle Lowry did not score a point for the Raptors for the first time since March 13, 2013, against the Miami Heat.

The Bucks led by 11 points early in the fourth, but Ibaka’s 3-pointer brought the Raptors to within three at 90-87 with 5:18 left.

Van Vleet’s 3-pointer put Toronto up by two with 3:13 to go.

Middleton’s two free throws tied the game at 94 with 2:23 to play, but Toronto regained the lead on Leonard’s 3-pointer. Brogdon tied the game with a 3-pointer, then gave Milwaukee the lead with the other 3-pointer.

VanVleet’s layup trimmed the lead to one with 28.9 seconds left.

Antetokounmpo’s driving dunk returned the lead to three points with 12.6 seconds to play before Leonard missed a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds to play that would have tied the game.

Thon Maker’s 3-pointer ended the scoring in the first quarter with the Raptors leading 30-25.

Lopez hit successive 3-pointers and Snell made a free throw and Milwaukee led 51-49 at halftime.

Lopez had 16 first-half points, Ibaka and Van Vleet topped Toronto with 11 points.

Milwaukee led by three points when Middleton banked in a two-foot hook shot with 3:22 left in the third quarter. The lead reached seven when Ersan Ilyasova made two free throws with 1:15 remaining

The Bucks led 79-74 after three quarters.

The Bucks scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to lead by 11, but Toronto was within four points on two free throws by Leonard.

Spurs 110, Jazz 97

DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points and Rudy Gay added 23 points and a career-high-tying 15 rebounds, as host San Antonio pulled away late to beat Utah.

The win was the second straight for the Spurs and gave them consecutive victories for the first time since winning four straight in an eight-day span October 27-November 3.

Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 27 points, while Ricky Rubio scored 26 and Rudy Gobert added 12 for Utah, which had a two-game winning streak snapped.

Pelicans 116,
Pistons 108

Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle combined to score 65 points to overcome a limited performance from Anthony Davis as New Orleans Pelicans edged host Detroit.

Holiday had 37 points and Randle had 28 while Davis was limited to six points in 26 minutes as he played through an injured hip suffered in the first quarter. Tim Frazier added 14 points and Nikola Mirotic scored 12 off the bench as the Pelicans won for the third time in five games.

Blake Griffin scored 35 points, backup Langston Galloway added 24 and Andre Drummond had 23 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Pistons, who lost their fourth straight after a five-game winning streak.

Hornets 119, Knicks 107

Kemba Walker scored 25 points before sitting out the entire fourth quarter and Charlotte rolled to an easy victory over host New York.

Walker, a native New Yorker, turned his only scheduled appearance in Madison Square Garden this season into another great performance. He finished 8 of 20 from the field, hit four 3-pointers, and added six rebounds, six assists and four steals.

The Hornets (13-13) won their second straight, following up an impressive home win over Denver on Friday night. Kevin Knox led the Knicks with 26 points off the bench. The Knicks also got 21 points from Tim Hardaway Jr and 18 from Frank Ntilikina.