MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points and Khris Middleton had 24 as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 124-117 on Thursday night in a matchup of two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
Bobby Portis added a season-high 23 points as the Bucks ended a five-game home losing streak.
Milwaukee never trailed and led by as many as 21 to defeat Philadelphia for the fourth consecutive time. In their only previous meeting this season, the Bucks won 109-105 in overtime at Philadelphia on March 17.
Joel Embiid scored 24 points for the Sixers. Shake Milton had 20 off the bench.
PELICANS 135, MAGIC 100: Zion Williamson scored 23 points in 23 minutes in his first game against Orlando, and visiting New Orleans snapped a four-game losing streak.
Brandon Ingram added 29 points and the Pelicans got double-figure scoring from six players. Lonzo Ball recorded 12 assists. Willy Hernangomez had a season-best 18 points and 12 rebounds.
NOTES
LAKERS: Anthony Davis ended the longest absence of the eight-time All-Star’s NBA career as Los Angeles opened a four-game road trip with the first of two games in Dallas.
The Lakers star missed 30 games because of right calf and heel issues before starting against the Mavericks on Thursday night. He was expected to play all of his 15 planned minutes in the first half.
Fellow star LeBron James is still at least a couple of weeks of returning from an ankle injury.
HAWKS: Atlanta point guard Trae Young will miss Atlanta’s home games against Miami on Friday night and Milwaukee on Sunday because of a sprained left ankle.
Young was injured Wednesday night in a 137-127 overtime loss at the New York Knicks. X-rays in New York were negative.
Young was ruled out for the next two games following an MRI in Atlanta that showed the lateral left ankle sprain.
Young leads Atlanta with 25.3 points per game and he ranks third in the NBA at 9.6 assists.
WIZARDS: Rookie forward Deni Avdija will miss the rest of the season after breaking his right leg.
The Wizards said that an MRI exam showed Avdija has a hairline fracture of his right fibula.
The team said the 20-year-old from Israel does not need surgery and is expected to make a full recovery in about three months.
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