Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo goes to the basket against Washington’s Davis Bertans, left, and center Robin Lopez in the first half Monday night at Washington. Nick Wass/Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his third consecutive triple-double to lead the Milwaukee Bucks past the Washington Wizards 133-122 Monday night for their fourth consecutive victory.
The Bucks pulled away late after letting a 26-point third-quarter lead slip to five midway through the fourth. When the Wizards got within seven in the final minutes, Antetokounmpo scored the next four points to make it a double-digit game again.
Antetokounmpo combined for 64 points, 26 rebounds and 21 assists in the two-game series at Washington that Milwaukee swept. He also had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the first triple-double of this run against the New York Knicks last week.
Antetokounmpo became the third player this season with a triple-double in three games in a row, joining Washington’s Russell Westbrook, who did it twice, and Miami’s Jimmy Butler. His seventh career 30-point triple-double passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in team history, and he’s the first Bucks player to have three triple-doubles in a row.
NETS 117, KNICKS 112: Kyrie Irving scored 34 points, James Harden welcomed himself to New York’s basketball rivalry with his 10th triple-double of the season, and the Brooklyn won at home.
Harden finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in his first game against the Knicks since arriving in Brooklyn two months ago and turning the Nets into one of the NBA’s best teams.
The Nets agreed to the deal that brought Harden to Brooklyn on Jan. 13, playing short-handed that night at Madison Square Garden in a 116-109 victory over the Knicks. That made them just 7-6, but they are 20-7 since Harden’s arrival, including 19-4 when at least two of their three superstars play.
Jeff Green scored 20 points as the Nets won for the 13th time in 14 games, even with Kevin Durant sitting out the last 12 of them with a strained left hamstring.
Julius Randle had 33 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Knicks, who are in a tough stretch with Milwaukee, Brooklyn and Philadelphia, the top three teams in the Eastern Conference, in their first four games after the All-Star break.
HORNETS 122, KINGS 116: Terry Rozier scored 26 points, Gordon Hayward added 25 and host Charlotte overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half to beat Sacramento for its fourth straight win.
De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 29 points, and Richaun Holmes had 17 points and 15 rebounds.
The Kings were dealt another big blow when forward Marvin Bagley III broke his left hand.
The Kings announced that an X-ray taken at the Spectrum Center after the game confirmed Bagley sustained a fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his left hand. Bagley will undergo further medical evaluation and an update regarding course of treatment will be provided in the coming days.
It’s unclear how Bagley sustained the injury.
SPURS 109, PISTONS 99: Dejounte Murray had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead a balanced attack as visiting San Antonio beat Detroit.
Detroit’s leading scorer, Jeremi Grant, left the game in the third quarter after falling hard on his hip while trying to drive between Drew Eubanks and Rudy Gay.
Jakob Poeltl had 14 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio, which had six players in double figures. The Spurs had lost 3 of 4, including a 35-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
Josh Jackson had 15 points for the Pistons, who have lost four straight.
NOTES
JAZZ: The NBA said an investigation into whether Elijah Millsap had a bigoted remark directed at him during an end-of-season interview six years ago has ended and was unable to find proof that the statement was made.
Millsap alleged last month that Dennis Lindsey, then the team’s general manager and now its executive vide president, said “if u say one more word, I’ll cut your Black ass and send you back to Louisiana” during that April 2015 meeting.
Lindsey denied saying that, and the NBA’s review – done by the league and with independent counsel – could not prove otherwise. Millsap and Lindsey were both interviewed, the NBA said, as were others who were part of that meeting. That would include Jazz Coach Quin Snyder, who has said he was in the meeting but had no recollection of Lindsey using those words.
“The investigation was unable to establish that the alleged statement was made,” the NBA said.
Millsap had no immediate comment when told of the NBA’s decision.
“Obviously, I know my truth,” Millsap said in an interview last month with The Associated Press. “Some outside counsel or somebody, all they can do is just try to stir it up and make it me look as if I’m lying. I did it basically to free myself from the torture of holding things in, to free myself, not to make Dennis Lindsey feel bad and not to make him look like a racist. I don’t feel he is a racist, but I do know what he said to me.”
Millsap played in 67 games for the Jazz over two seasons, getting waived in January 2016 and appearing in only two NBA games since. He is the brother of longtime Utah standout and current Denver forward Paul Millsap.
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