Giannis’s triple double leads Bucks over Knicks

Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered his third triple-double of the season and Khris Middleton scored a game-high 23 points to power the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks over New York 123-102 on Saturday.

Greek star Antetokounmpo had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Bucks, who improved their league-best record to 26-4 with an eighth consecutive road victory.

Antetokounmpo made 8-of-10 shots from the floor, 2-of-4 from 3-point range and went 4-of-8 from the free throw line for the Bucks, who were coming off a Thursday triumph over the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers.

“I’m not into stats,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m here to get the job done. Stats are going to be there if you are on the court and doing your best.

“The hard part is making your stats count. I just want to be on the court and help my team win.”

Kyle Korver had 17 points off the bench as Milwaukee produced seven double-figure scorers while the Knicks, who slid to 7-23, were led by Julius Randle’s 20 points.

NBA scoring leader James Harden, whose 38.5-point per game average is the only one ahead of Antetokounmpo’s 31.8-point average, poured in 47 points in Houston’s 139-125 victory at Phoenix.

Harden hit 15-of-27 shots from the floor, including 9-of-19 from 3-point range, and 8-of-9 free throws as well as contributing six rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets.

Russell Westbrook added 30 points and 10 assists while Clint Capela had 17 rebounds and 14 points for Houston.

Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points, passed out nine assists, pulled down seven rebounds and made four steals to power the Los Angeles Clippers to a 134-109 victory at San Antonio.

The Clippers improved to 22-9 and remained hot on the heels of the Lakers in the West.

Joel Embiid and Josh Richardson each scored 21 points to lead six double-figure Philadelphia scorers as the 76ers ripped Washington 125-108.

Cameroonian Embiid grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds while Australian guard Ben Simmons had 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Sixers (21-10) and Bradley Beal had 36 points in a losing cause.

Croatian forward Bojan Bogdanovich scored 26 points and Frenchman Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 19 rebounds as the Utah Jazz won 114-107 at Charlotte. Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 29 points.

Brooklyn’s Spencer Dinwiddie scored 39 points and the host Nets beat Atlanta 122-112, outscoring the Hawks 37-14 in the fourth quarter for the victory.

Zach LaVine scored 33 points to lead the Chicago Bulls over the host Detroit Pistons 119-107 while Jae Crowder had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Memphis over visiting Sacramento 119-115.

Damian Lillard scored 29 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers over visiting Minnesota 113-106.

Agencies