UNDATED (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks solidified their hold on third place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, while dropping the Philadelphia 76ers into a first-place tie with Brooklyn.
Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped in 27 points and Khris Middleton had 24 as the Bucks downed the Sixers, 124-117. Bobby Portis added a season-high 23 points as the Bucks ended a five-game home losing streak.
Milwaukee never trailed and led by as many as 21 to defeat Philadelphia for the fourth consecutive time.
Joel Embiid scored 24 points for the Sixers, who also received 20 points from Shake Milton off the bench.
Checking out Thursday’s NBA action:
— Luka Doncic scored 30 points and the Mavericks spoiled Anthony Davis’ return from a 30-game injury absence by topping the Lakers, 115-110. Davis was rusty in his first game since Feb. 14 because of right calf and heel issues, scoring four points on 2-of-10 shooting while limited to 17 minutes in the first half only.
— Kemba Walker matched his season high with 32 points and the Celtics led by 21 in the second half of their ninth win in 11 games, 99-86 against the Suns. Walker was 11 of 17 from the field, hitting five 3-pointers. Jayson Tatum struggled shooting for the second straight game, going 3 of 17 and finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
— The Bulls handled the Hornets, 108-91 as Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points and matched a season high with 16 rebounds. Coby White and Thaddeus Young scored 18 apiece for the Bulls, who built a 14-point halftime lead and put this one out of reach in the third quarter of their third win in four games. Chicago is 6-10 since landing Vucevic from Orlando.
— Zion Williamson scored 23 points in 23 minutes as the Pelicans clobbered the Magic, 135-100 to end a four-game losing streak. Brandon Ingram added 29 points and New Orleans got double-figure scoring from six players. Eric Bledsoe chipped in 15 points by hitting five 3-pointers.
— Derrick White had 26 points and Jakob Poeltl added 17 with 11 rebounds as the Spurs beat the Pistons, 106-91 to snap a five-game home losing streak. Lonnie Walker added 18 points and Rudy Gay had 14 for San Antonio. Josh Jackson had 29 points to lead Detroit.
