Giannis, Bledsoe lead as Bucks hang on to edge Thunder


Reuters | Oklahoma | Updated: 11-11-2019 08:21 IST | Created: 11-11-2019 08:20 IST
Giannis, Bledsoe lead as Bucks hang on to edge Thunder
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Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 35 points and 16 rebounds and Brook Lopez sank a go-ahead 3-pointer with 25.4 seconds left as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks recorded a 121-119 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. Eric Bledsoe finished with a season-best 25 points, marking the fourth consecutive game that he has scored at least 20 after being held to 18 or fewer in each of his first six contests.

Lopez joined Bledsoe in making a trio of 3-pointers for the Bucks, but none bigger than the one he sank after Oklahoma City went on a 13-2 run to forge a tie at 114. Dennis Schroder shot 9-of-12 for 25 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 22 for the Thunder, who saw their four-game home winning streak come to a halt.

Gilgeous-Alexander sank a pair of 3-pointers to bring Oklahoma City within five at 102-97 with 5:06 left, but Antetokounmpo accepted George Hill's bounce pass before taking off for an emphatic dunk. That play sparked Milwaukee, as Bledsoe made a three-point play and a 3-pointer before Antetokounmpo's dunk pushed the advantage to 112-101 with 2:04 to go.

Schroder stepped up with a pullup jumper and 3-pointers on consecutive possessions before Chris Paul's jumper and Danilo Gallinari's 3-pointer forged a tie at 114 with 33 seconds to play. Milwaukee's Khris Middleton had 10 points, five assists and four rebounds before exiting the contest with a left thigh contusion in the third quarter.

Oklahoma City's Nerlens Noel scored 14 points in place of Steven Adams, who sat out with a left knee contusion. Gallinari sank a 3-pointer to push Oklahoma City's lead to 61-54, but Bledsoe highlighted Milwaukee's 20-3 run with a 3-pointer and a three-point play.

Antetokounmpo also provided a signature moment during the lopsided sequence by spinning around Gallinari and executing a reverse layup before making his subsequent foul shot. Schroder drained a 3-pointer as the Thunder trimmed their deficit to 78-76 late in the third, but Sterling Brown sank a pullup jumper to ignite a personal five-point surge as the Bucks concluded the quarter on a 9-4 run.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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