Giannis triple-double propels Bucks over Raptors

LOS ANGELES, United States, Jan 7, 2025 — Giannis Antetokounmpo posted his fourth triple-double of the season and Damian Lillard scored 25 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 128-104 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday.

Antetokounmpo scored 11 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and kept the Bucks offense clicking with his season-high 13 assists as the Bucks snapped a two-game skid.

Milwaukee had lost four of their last five matches, with all of those defeats coming against teams with losing records. But they handled the 8-28 Raptors convincingly, despite the absence of Khris Middleton with an ankle injury.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo's passing -- including 10 assists in the first half -- "set the whole tone to our team".

"When your best player does that, it becomes contagious and the ball just moved," Rivers said.

The only downside for the Bucks was a cut Antetokounmpo suffered on his right little finger when he hit the rim on a block attempt late in the first half.

Rivers said it required stitches to stop the bleeding, but Antetokounmpo wanted to stay in a game in which he and Lillard were both able to rest the entire fourth quarter anyway.

In Chicago, Zach LaVine scored 35 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Bulls rallied from a 19-point third-quarter deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 114-110.

Coby White added 23 points, driving for a go-ahead layup then throwing down a dunk to put the Bulls up 113-110 with 15.9 seconds left, and LaVine adding a final free-throw to close it out.

The Bulls withstood another standout performance from San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama, who had 23 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and eight blocked shots.

In Detroit, Cade Cunningham scored 32 points and handed out nine assists as the Pistons erased an early 22-point deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-115.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for Detroit, draining back-to-back three-pointers to put the Pistons up 109-106 with less than three minutes to play.

Portland twice pulled within one point and were down 117-115 after a three-pointer by Anfernee Simons with 12 seconds left.

But Malik Beasley made one of two free throws and came up with a steal to seal the Pistons' fourth straight win.

Suns halt skid 

Phoenix coach Mike Budenholzer's decision to shake up his starting lineup paid dividends in Philadelphia, where Bradley Beal came off the bench and scored 25 points to lead the Suns to a 109-99 victory over the short-handed 76ers.

With the Suns on a four-game losing streak, Budenholzer shifted Beal and Jusuf Nurkic to reserve roles. Phoenix trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter and were down by four at halftime.

But Beal scored 20 points in the second half and the Suns bench out-scored the Sixers reserves 54-7 overall.

Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points and handed out 10 assists, and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 26 points with 11 rebounds for Philadelphia, who were without Joel Embiid and Kyle Lowry.

The injury-ravaged Orlando Magic beat the suddenly struggling Knicks 103-94 in New York.

Cole Anthony scored 24 points and Wendell Carter Jr. came off the bench to score 19 for Orlando, who remain without their top four scorers in Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Moritz Wagner.

Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges scored 24 points apiece for the Knicks, who lost their third straight on the heels of a nine-game winning streak.

In Memphis, Jaren Jackson scored 35 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies in a 119-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, who were without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and dropped their fifth straight match.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, fueled by 37 points from Anthony Edwards, snapped their three-game losing streak with a 108-106 come-from-behind victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.