Basket Ball / Sports

Giannis scores 44, leads Bucks’ 131-116 win over Lakers

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 44 points on 17-for-20 shooting, and Bobby Portis had 23 points with five 3-pointers in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 131-116 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Khris Middleton scored all of his 21 points in the first half, and Antetokounmpo added 14 rebounds and eight assists while making his first 11 shots as the defending NBA champions won their fourth straight overall and swept back-to-back games against LA’s two teams.

Milwaukee jumped to a 24-point lead in the first half with 70% shooting and led by 30 midway through the third quarter before surviving the Lakers’ strong late rally. The Bucks hung on for their third win on a four-game West Coast road trip that ends with an NBA Finals rematch in Phoenix on Thursday.

LeBron James scored 27 points and Anthony Davis had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who couldn’t catch up to the champs even on a rare night with both superstars in their injury-riddled lineup. LA has lost five of seven to fall back to three games below .500.

The Lakers rallied impressively in the fourth quarter, trimming Milwaukee’s lead to 10 points midway through the period with a 20-5 run. Portis’ fifth 3-pointer stopped the surge, and the Lakers never got closer than 11 again.

Los Angeles dropped to 10-8 with both James and Davis in their lineup during a season totally lacking in continuity due to lengthy absences for its two cornerstones. James looked tired at times in just his second game back from a five-game absence for the Lakers, who haven’t won back-to-back games since Jan. 7.

Malik Monk scored 20 points and Stanley Johnson added a season-high 16 for the Lakers in a reserve role.

After giving up 42 points to the Knicks in the first quarter on Saturday night, the Lakers allowed 38 to the Bucks in the opening period. Milwaukee took a 51-28 lead in the second by scoring seven points on one trip down the floor with a pair of 3-pointers sandwiching …

Basket Ball / Sports

Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 47 points, Bucks deny Lakers

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 47 points and Khris Middleton tied Milwaukee’s franchise record for career 3-pointers as the Bucks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 109-102 on Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum.

Middleton returned after missing eight games due to COVID-19, played 30 minutes and made consecutive 3-pointers 30 seconds apart early in the fourth quarter to put the Bucks ahead for good. The second of those 3s was his 1,051st with the Bucks to match Ray Allen for first place on the team’s all-time list.

“That’s a very, very special place to be,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think we all just admire what Khris does every night, his ability to shoot, the different ways he gets 3’s and his kind of consistency and longevity here.”

Allen holds the NBA record with 2,973 3-pointers in a career that also included stints with the Seattle Super Sonics, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.

LeBron James missed an eighth straight game for the Lakers due to an abdominal strain. The Lakers have gone 3-5 during that stretch.

Los Angeles also is missing Trevor Ariza and Kendrick Nunn, who haven’t appeared in a game this season.

“It’s a part of the game,” said Anthony Davis, who scored 18 points for the Lakers. “Same thing with the team we just played. They’ve been hit with injuries as well. It kind of goes with the league, the business of the game. You go out there and put your body on the line every night, God forbid, something is going to happen in the course of a season. Someone’s going to get hurt. We’ve got to adjust and continue to fight until we get everybody back.

Talen Horton-Tucker scored 25 points for the Lakers two nights after getting a career-high 28 in a 121-103 loss to Chicago. Russell Westbrook had 19 points, Malik Monk 11 and Carmelo Anthony 10.

Antetokounmpo posted his highest point total since scoring 50 in a Game 6 Finals victory over the Phoenix Suns that clinched Milwaukee’s first title since 1971.

“I wanted

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Basket Ball / Sports

Curry, Warriors stun James, Lakers 121-114 in opener

Opening night in Hollywood went well for three quarters for Los Angeles Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

But it was a flop for their new supporting cast, including L.A. native and former league MVP Russell Westbrook.

Curry, a two-time MVP, had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Warriors, who rallied from 10 points down to stun the Lakers 121-114 in a season opener Tuesday night.

The Lakers went cold in the fourth quarter, and surrendered the lead halfway through the period.

James had 34 points and 11 rebounds, while Davis had 33 points and 11 rebounds. No other Lakers scored in double figures.

”Those two guys were spectacular,” coach Frank Vogel said. ”We’re going to be pretty good if we get those type of performances. We just have to be better defensively. This is a team that is all new to each other, so everybody’s finding their way a little bit.”

Wesbrook shot just 4 for 13 for eight points in his Lakers debut.

”Him more than anybody, it’s going to be an adjustment period,” Vogel said. ”He’s coming into our culture, our system, he’s the new guy, he’s got to find his way. It’s difficult, when you’re used to being the guy that has the ball most nights, to be able to play off others like LeBron and A.D. It’s just a little bit different for him. He’s going to be great for us but it’s going to be an adjustment period.”

James and Davis said they helped console Westbrook afterward.

”I told Russ to go home and watch a comedy,” James said. ”Put a smile on his face. Don’t be so hard on himself.”

The Lakers had an 84-74 lead late in the third quarter after a jumper by Kent Bazemore, but the Warriors slowly closed the gap.

”We didn’t finish quarters well the whole night,” Vogel said. ”We gave up a 38-point fourth quarter. If you do that you’re going to lose most nights. …

Basket Ball / Olympics / Sports

Kevin Durant leads U.S. to fourth straight gold medal

The United States men’s basketball team has won the gold medal after defeating France, 87-82, avenging the loss Team USA suffered in the opening game of group play. It is the fourth straight Olympic gold for the Americans.

 

As he has been for the majority of the tournament, Kevin Durant was spectacular for Team USA as he finished the win with 29 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Jayson Tatum stepped up to provide Durant with the most help on the offensive end, finishing with 19 points to join Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday as double-digit scorers as the guards finished the game with 11 points apiece.

Javale McGee and Mum Pamela McGee become the first ever Mum and Son to win an Olympic Gold Medal in History.

Middleton and Jrue Holiday joined an elite class to have won a Championship and Olympic Gold in the same year

  • Kyrie Irving (2016)
  • Lebron James (2012)
  • Scottie Pippen (1996)(1992)
  • Michael Jordan (1992)

For France, Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier led the charge finishing with 16 each, but in the end it wasn’t enough for France to win the gold as the Americans overcame another slow start to win the tournament.…