Bucks beat Chicago for 12th-straight win, lose Giannis to injury

Milwaukee beat Chicago 112-100 for its 12th-straight win Thursday night, but also saw its best player leave early with an injury.

The Bucks led throughout, taking a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Early in the second is when things took a turn for the worse, as Giannis Antetokounmpo went down holding his wrist after trying to block a shot. He headed to the locker room and did not return to the game, with the team calling it a sprained right wrist. Coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters after the game that an x-ray of Antetokounmpo’s wrist came back clean and they are hopeful it’s nothing serious.

Without Antetokounmpo, who had two points, seven rebounds and three assists when he got hurt, the Bucks leaned on Brook Lopez and Jevon Carter. Lopez finished with 33 points, which was his season-high and the most he’s scored since Sept. 8, 2020. Carter delivered 22 points, six assists and six rebounds.

Milwaukee also got 15 points and six assists from Jrue Holiday, while AJ Green scored 15 points off the bench.

The Bulls were paced by Nikola Vucevic’s 22 points and 16 rebounds. Zach LaVine chipped in 18 points.

Before leaving with the injury, Antetokounmpo set the all-time assists mark in team history, passing Paul Pressey.

The 12-game winning streak is now the second-longest for the Bucks since 1982. The franchise record for consecutive wins is 20 set in 1971, with the second-most being the 18 straight Milwaukee won in 2020.

The Bucks win sent them into the All-Star Break sitting at 41-17 on the year and just a 1/2 game back of Boston for the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference. They’ll return to action next Friday against Miami.