Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Milwaukee Bucks to victory in Chicago on his return from injury, the Utah Jazz stormed into San Antonio 24 hours after beating Detroit, and Jose Alvarado and Mark Williams were ejected from the New Orleans Pelicans-Phoenix Suns game after getting into a brawl on the court.
The Bucks (13-19) had lost six of the eight games the Greek missed due to his calf injury, and have even fallen out of ‘play-off’ positions in the East.
This Saturday, Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Bucks’103-112 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Antetokounmpo heated up the end of the game with a dunk two seconds from the end, when the Bulls had already given up defending.
“If we keep losing, we’re not going to make the playoffs. If a dunk is what has to happen for everyone to wake up and understand that we’re fighting for our lives, so be it,” Antetokounmpo said after the game
Wembanyama is not enough
The Utah Jazz toppled the Detroit Pistons, the leaders of the East, last night. 24 hours later, they went to San Antonio to beat the Spurs, the team of the moment, by 127-114.
The Spurs (23-8) were without De’Aaron Fox due to an abductor strain, but Victor Wembanyama returned to the starting lineup for the first time since November 14.
The Frenchman scored 32 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and three assists, and Keldon Johnson added 27 points and 10 rebounds, but it was not enough to overcome a Jazz team led by Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George, with 29 and 28 points each.
The Spurs succumbed from the perimeter, with a poor 10 of 44 from three-point range (22.7%), doubled by Utah’s 45.9%
Fight in New Orleans
Jose Alvarado and Mark Williams were ejected from the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Phoenix Suns (114-123) after getting into a fist fight in the center of the court at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
There was just over two minutes left in the third quarter of the game when the fight broke out between Williams and Alvarado, who represents Puerto Rico at international level.
The Suns were attacking when Williams set a screen on the three-point line on Alvarado, who pushed him with both hands, committing a personal foul.
The Puerto Rican approached the referees to protest when Williams pushed him. He then turned to face the Suns center, who is more than a head taller than him.
A fight broke out with several blows, including a punch from Alvarado that apparently struck Williams in the face.
The Denver Nuggets fell 127-126 to the Orlando Magic despite a triple-double from Serbia’s Nikola Jokic (34 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists). Jokic is one triple-double away from Oscar Robertson’s 181, only surpassed by Russell Westbrook’s 207
In Minneapolis, the Brooklyn Nets gave Jordi Fernandez a 107-123 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on his birthday, achieving their first three-game winning streak of the season.
The Houston Rockets defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers117-100, and the Miami Heat defeated the Indiana Pacers 142-116.
The New York Knicks defeated the Atlanta Hawks 128-125, while the Sacramento Kings won 113-107 against the Dallas Mavericks.
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