Antetokounmpo scores 36, Bucks beat 76ers 112-101

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 36 points and 20 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks used a strong defensive effort to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 112-101 on Thursday night.

Antetokounmpo had 30-plus points and 15-plus rebounds for the fifth straight game and the 14th time this season.

The Bucks won for the 12th time in 13 games, avenging a lopsided Christmas Day loss to the 76ers in Philadelphia. The 76ers closed out an 0-4 road swing that also included losses to Atlanta, Boston and Miami.

Khris Middleton, limited to four points in the first half, finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, and point guard Eric Bledsoe added 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

76ers center Joel Embiid finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds but was frustrated most of the night and shot 6 of 26 from the field and 3 of 10 from 3-point range.

Tobias Harris led Philadelphia with 25 points, and Ben Simmons narrowly missed a triple-double with 11 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.

PELICANS 125, BULLS 119

CHICAGO (AP) — Zion Williamson scored 21, JJ Redick added 18 points and New Orleans hung on to beat Chicago.

Williamson had nine points as New Orleans outscored Chicago 31-19 in the third quarter to break open the game. The Pelicans led by as many as 27 points and withstood a big run down the stretch by the Bulls‘ backups to come away with the win after back-to-back losses.

Redick hit three 3-pointers, and All-Star Brandon Ingram added 15 points and five assists before leaving with a sprained right ankle in the third.

Zach LaVine led Chicago with 22 points. Chandler Hutchison scored 16 points to go with eight rebounds, and Adam Mokoka added 15 points in the fourth quarter — the first points of his career.

KNICKS 105, MAGIC 103

NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle scored 22 points, Taj Gibson had 19 and New York beat Orlando for its third straight victory.

Despite trading leading scorer Marcus Morris to the Clippers earlier in the day, the Knicks rallied from 10 down in the fourth quarter to match their longest winning streak of the season.

Elfrid Payton had 15 points and nine assists for the Knicks, who got rookie RJ Barrett back after he missed nine games with a sprained right ankle. He finished with 12 points.

Nikola Vucevic had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, who lost for the seventh time in eight games.

Coach Steve Clifford was trying desperately to get a timeout on their final possession, but nobody on the court saw him and the Magic couldn’t get a shot off. Clifford screamed at the officials after the game and had to be held back by Orlando assistant coaches.