Giannis Antetokounmpo has 36 points and 12 rebounds, Bucks beat Nets 129-125
NEW YORK (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 36 points and 12 rebounds to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Brooklyn Nets 129-125 on Monday night.
Damian Lillard added 21 points, and Jae Crowder had 15. Milwaukee improved to 4-2 with its first road victory of the season.
Cam Thomas scored 45 points for Brooklyn in his fourth 30-point game of the season. Mikal Bridges had 31 points, and Lonnie Walker IV added 19 points. Brooklyn fell to 3-4 overall and 0-3 at home.
Antetokounmpo entered with more points in his career against Brooklyn than any other opponent (817), and the Nets were without center Nic Claxton and forward Cam Johnson for the sixth straight game.
Despite trailing by 10 in the second half, the Bucks appeared poised to pull away after taking the lead with a 17-5 third-quarter-closing run then building a nine-point advantage by scoring 12 of the first 17 points in the fourth.
Brooklyn roared back, led by Thomas who scored seven of the points on his team’s 12-0 run that gave the Nets a 115-12 lead with five minutes left.
But the Bucks scored 17 of the game’s final 27 points, keyed by Antetokounmpo’s nine points in the span and two crucial blocks in the game’s final minute.
Bridges scored 11 first-quarter points on 5-for-7 shooting, and the Nets shot 52 percent from the field in the first quarter, building a seven-point advantage.
But Antetokounmpo scored 12 in the first, including an electric breakaway dunk late in the quarter, and Milwaukee closed within 32-29. Milwaukee then opened the second quarter by making 10 of its first 12 shots and building an eight-point advantage, 58-50.
But Brooklyn responded with strong defense, limiting the Bucks to just one field goal over the final 5:03. Led by Thomas’ 14 second-quarter points, Brooklyn closed the frame with a 17-5 run and took a 67-63 lead into halftime.
UP NEXT
Bucks: Host Detroit on Wednesday
Nets: Host LA Clippers on Wednesday.
an any other opponent (817), and the Nets were without center Nic Claxton and forward Cam Johnson for the sixth straight game.
Despite trailing by 10 in the second half, the Bucks appeared poised to pull away after taking the lead with a 17-5 third-quarter-closing run, then building a nine-point advantage by scoring 12 of the first 17 points in the fourth.
Brooklyn roared back, led by Thomas who scored seven of the points on his team’s 12-0 run that gave the Nets a 115-12 lead with five minutes left.
But the Bucks scored 17 of the final 27 points, keyed by Antetokounmpo’s nine points in the span and two crucial blocks in the game’s final minute.
UP NEXT
Bucks: Host Detroit on Wednesday night.
Nets: Host Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
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Packers snap 4-game skid with 20-3 victory over struggling Rams
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Jones finally ended the Green Bay Packers' first-half touchdown drought.
Green Bay's resourceful reinforcements on defense took over from there and helped the Packers snap a four-game skid by beating the Los Angeles Rams 20-3 on a rainy Sunday.
“I feel like that will help us get rolling, give us that confidence that we need,” said Jones, who ran for 73 yards on 20 carries to lead Green Bay's 184-yard ground attack. “I always say it only takes one to get things going.”
Jones put the Packers ahead for good with a 3-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, the first time Green Bay had reached the end zone in the first half of a game since a Sept. 17 loss in Atlanta.
Rookie tight end Luke Musgrave scored his first career touchdown on a 20-yard reception from Jordan Love and Anders Carlson went 3 of 4 on field-goal attempts for the Packers (3-5). Love went 20 of 26 for 228 yards despite getting sacked four times.
That was more than enough to beat the Rams, who dropped their third straight. The Rams played without quarterback Matthew Stafford, who sprained a ligament in his right thumb last week in a loss at Dallas.
“The weather was kind of in and out of rain, which did minimize some of the different things that you can activate, particularly in the pass game," Rams coach Sean McVay said. “We had a tough time ball handling even in the run game. So, there really weren’t a lot of positives to take away.”
With Brett Rypien starting in Stafford’s place, the Rams failed to reach the end zone. Rypien went 13 of 28 for 130 yards with an interception, and the Rams lost one of his two fumbles.
Rypien struggled against an injury-riddled Green Bay secondary that started two rookie seventh-round picks in cornerback Carrington Valentine and safety Anthony Johnson Jr.
“Not too bad for a seventh-round pick, huh?” said Valentine, who had three passes defended.
Johnson, who had played just eight defensive snaps all season before Sunday, intercepted a pass that teammate Jaire Alexander deflected to set up a fourth-quarter field goal.
Johnson said he didn't know he'd be starting until Sunday, but visualized that he would get his first career interception.
“I saw the quarterback's eyes and saw where he was going, so I broke that way,” Johnson said. “And as I'm running that way, I see the corner route is coming and I'm going to close, and Ja flies out of the air, tips it up. I'm like, ‘Oh, there it is. It’s mine.'"
The Packers had been outscored 73-9 in the first half of their past five games, but they led this one 7-3 at the break and could have been up by more if they hadn't wasted opportunities with penalties. Green Bay's defense shut the Rams down the rest of the way.
Los Angeles' only points came on Lucas Havrisik's 52-yard field goal late in the second quarter.
Jones' touchdown followed one of Rypien’s turnovers. Rypien initially mishandled a snap and then tried to roll to his right. Jonathan Owens sacked him and forced a fumble that De’Vondre Campbell recovered at the Rams 41-yard line.
The Packers fumbled the ball away on each of their first two second-half series, but the Rams failed to capitalize either time.
After Ahkello Witherspoon recovered Dontayvion Wicks' fumble at the Rams 42, Los Angeles punted rather than attempting a long field goal on fourth-and-17 from the 36.
Jordan Fuller knocked the ball from Aaron Jones on the Packers’ next series, and Duke Shelley’s 9-yard fumble return gave the Rams the ball on the Green Bay 36. The Rams’ ensuing possession ended with Havrisik’s 49-yard field-goal attempt sailing wide right.
“We don’t do a good job of capitalizing when our defense gets the turnovers, and we weren’t able to really get anything going momentum-wise,” McVay said. “It’s a good, humbling day. Sometimes you have days like that.”
Carlson, who missed a 52-yard field goal to end the first half, extended Green Bay’s lead by kicking a 26-yarder late in the third quarter and a 34-yarder with 9:08 left in the game. Musgrave capped the scoring by catching a pass across the middle at around the 15 and running into the end zone with 3:41 remaining.
“It’s not perfect — it’s never going to be perfect — but I think just the position we were able to put ourselves in and come out with a win, it definitely is going to help us,” Love said. “We’ve just got to keep stacking going forward.”
Brewers trade veteran OF Mark Canha to Detroit for minor league pitcher
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Veteran outfielder Mark Canha is on the move again, with the Milwaukee Brewers trading him to the Detroit Tigers on Saturday rather than picking up his option for the 2024 season.
The Brewers acquired minor league pitcher Blake Holub in the deal.
Milwaukee was facing a Monday deadline on whether to pick up Canha’s $11.5 million team option for 2024 or pay a $2 million buyout. The Brewers instead dealt Canha to the Tigers, the second time he’s been traded this year.
Canha, who turns 35 on Feb. 15, helped the Brewers in their push for an NL Central title this year after they acquired him from the Mets at the trade deadline. The Mets received minor league pitcher Justin Jarvis in that deal and agreed to pay $3.26 million of Canha’s $3.5 million remaining salary for the year.
In 50 games with the Brewers, Canha batted .287 with a .373 on-base percentage, five homers and 33 RBIs. He produced one of the most memorable moments of the Brewers' season by hitting a tiebreaking grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning of a 9-5 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sept. 16.
Canha had hit .245 with a .343 on-base percentage, six homers and 29 RBIs in 89 games for the Mets before the trade.
He has a career batting average of .250 with a .349 on-base percentage, 113 homers and 417 RBIs. Canha has played for the Oakland Athletics (2015-21), Mets (2022-23) and Brewers (2023).
Houb, a 25-year-old right-hander, went 6-4 with a 3.03 ERA and eight saves in 48 combined relief appearances with Single-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie this season.
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Lillard delivers down the stretch to help the Bucks outlast the Knicks 110-105
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 30 points and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:03 left as the Milwaukee Bucks outlasted the New York Knicks 110-105 on Friday to open the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
The Bucks withstood a huge performance from Jalen Brunson, who had 45 points and gave the Knicks their first lead since early in the second quarter by hitting a 3 with 1:10 remaining. Brunson punctuated the shot by blowing a kiss to the crowd.
Lillard answered by sinking a 3-pointer of his own to put Milwaukee back ahead 104-103. After Brunson missed a 10-footer with 49 seconds left, Khris Middleton found Lillard cutting to the basket for a driving layup to start a 3-point play that made it 107-103 with 38 seconds to go.
Brook Lopez then delivered his eighth block of the night — he had totaled only two in Milwaukee’s first four games — and made one of two free throws with 17.8 seconds remaining. Brunson’s driving layup cut Milwaukee’s lead to 108-105 with 8.8 seconds left, but Lillard sealed the victory by hitting two free throws with 6.4 seconds to play.
Lillard made all 12 of his free-throw attempts.
Giannis Antetokounmpo added 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Bucks. Jae Crowder had 14 points, while MarJon Beauchamp and Lopez scored 13 each. Khris Middleton had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Quentin Grimes scored 17 points and Julius Randle had 16 for the Knicks, though Randle shot just 5 of 20.
Brunson's 45 points were three off his career high. He had 48 against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 31.
Milwaukee led by 14 in the third quarter but went cold down the stretch, going nearly seven minutes without a basket in the fourth period.
The Knicks played without RJ Barrett for a second straight game due to a sore knee.
“It's day to day,” coach Tom Thibodeau said before the game. “We'll see where he is tomorrow.”
The Bucks and Knicks are in East Group B of the tournament along with Charlotte, Miami and Washington. All the teams in the group will play one another this month as part of their usual regular-season schedules.
This tournament’s six group winners and two wild-card teams advance to quarterfinal matchups Dec. 4-5.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
Bucks: At the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.
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Winners Take: NFL Week 9 & CFB Week 10 Free Picks
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Dennis Schroder's 24 points and 11 assists lead the Raptors past the Bucks 130-111
TORONTO (AP) — Dennis Schroder’s 24 points and 11 assists were season highs, Scottie Barnes scored 21 points and matched his season-best with 12 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors snapped a three-game losing streak with a 130-111 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
Pascal Siakam scored a season-best 26 points, O.G. Anunoby had 16 and Jakob Poeltl added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who led by as many as 27 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 16 points and Damian Lillard had 15 for the Bucks. Antetokounmpo shot 5 for 11, while Lillard was 4 for 9. Malik Beasley led Milwaukee with 20 points and Khris Middleton had 11.
“We need days like this to realize that we have to get better,” Antetokounmpo said. “We are not there yet. We’ve got to keep on coming together as a team.”
Lillard echoed Antetokounmpo’s opinion about Milwaukee’s need for more time to come together.
“Obviously it’s frustrating,” Lillard said. “We’re still trying to learn each other, we’re trying to learn a new staff.”
Toronto outscored Milwaukee 26-5 on fast-break points and 66-40 on points in the paint. The Raptors set a season-high for points and topped 100 in regulation for the first time.
“Sometimes getting embarrassed is good because it forces you to focus on doing the right things consistently,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said.
Toronto’s 35 assists were also a high mark in the young season. The Raptors finished with 50 rebounds, while Milwaukee had 29.
“They’re built for that,” Griffin said of Toronto’s rebounding. “It was something we were expecting, we just didn’t execute it.”
Griffin became the second former member of Raptors’ staff to return to Toronto this week. Griffin spent five years as an assistant to Nick Nurse, whose Philadelphia 76ers beat the Raptors on Saturday.
Antetokounmpo had as many made baskets (one) as fouls in the opening quarter. Siakam scored nine points in the first and Schroder added six assists as Toronto opened a 31-18 lead.
The Raptors made five 3-pointers in the first quarter, one more than they had in 29 attempts in Monday’s home loss to Portland.
Siakam missed all six of his 3-point attempts against the Trail Blazers but was 5-for-8 shooting against the Bucks.
“We were flat as a team (against Portland) and we can’t afford to do that with our roster,” Siakam said.
Milwaukee missed all seven of its 3-point shots in the first quarter and 14 of its first 15 attempts from long distance. The Bucks finished 13 for 34 from beyond the arc.
Barnes scored 10 points in the second quarter as Toronto stretched its lead to 66-44 at halftime. Antetokounmpo did not score in the second, missing his only field goal attempt.
Antetokounmpo had 10 points in the third, but Schroder answered with 11 for the Raptors. Toronto took a 95-79 lead to the fourth.
Raptors forward Precious Achiuwa missed his second straight game because of a strained left groin. Achiuwa left Saturday’s loss to the 76ers and has not played since.
Packers: Gutekunst says team's overall struggles on offense make it difficult to measure Love's progress
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst says the overall struggles of the offense make it tougher to evaluate the progress of Jordan Love in the quarterback’s first season as a starter.
The Packers rank 25th in total offense and haven't scored a first-half touchdown in their past five games. The Packers (2-5) will try to avoid a fifth consecutive loss Sunday when they host the Los Angeles Rams (3-5).
Although Love is just 27th in passer rating, he hasn’t gotten much help in his first season since taking over for four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers. The 2020 first-round pick is throwing primarily to rookies and second-year pros, who haven’t developed as fast as the Packers wanted.
“When the group as a whole is not functioning the way it should function, then it’s hard to evaluate anybody,” Gutekunst said Wednesday. “At the same time, it’s on us to get that right so we can move forward and evaluate the guys we have in that room.”
Gutekunst expressed confidence the Packers would be able to get a good evaluation on Love by the end of the season.
“These are going to be a very important 10 games, and I think he’s done a lot of really good things,” Gutekunst said. “Really like the way he’s responded to the adversity, how he’s led the team. Again, we’ve got to be better as a unit, and I expect that to happen over the next 10 games.”
Shortly after trading Rodgers to the New York Jets, the Packers signed Love to a contract extension running through the 2024 season. That theoretically gives the Packers two seasons to determine whether Love’s the long-term solution.
But if the Packers continue to falter the rest of this season, they could end up with an early enough pick to select one of the top available quarterbacks in next year’s draft.
Love’s season had an encouraging start.
He threw six touchdown passes without an interception in the Packers’ first two games. He followed that up by leading a fourth-quarter comeback in which the Packers scored 18 straight points in the last 11 minutes of an 18-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
But he has faded since, throwing a combined seven interceptions and four touchdown passes during the Packers’ four-game skid. The entire offense has struggled, showing its inexperience.
“That’s kind of the makeup of our team right now,” Love said. “We have a lot of young guys, and that’s the plan, to be able to build this thing and go in the right direction. We all knew it was going to take time. It wasn’t going to be perfect right off the bat. Obviously, at this point, it’s still a work in progress. We’re still working and building to that every day, trying to get better as a unit and as a group. Yeah, it’s a little slower to start than we expected.”
Gutekunst had enough faith in Love’s long-term ability to trade up four spots to take the former Utah State quarterback in the first round of the draft when Green Bay still had Rodgers on its roster.
And even amid the offense’s recent stumbles, Gutekunst says Love’s performance still offers at least some reason for encouragement.
“That’s how players learn in this league, is by making mistakes out there on the field and then kind of carrying those scars with them,” Gutekunst said. “I think Jordan’s doing that right now certainly, and I think the whole offense as a whole is doing that. It’ll really be how we take that and how we move forward will determine a lot on all these guys and where we go from there.”
NOTES: Rasul Douglas’ former teammates on the secondary discussed their surprise and disappointment over the trade of the veteran cornerback to Buffalo a day earlier. “Everybody got a reality check,” cornerback Jaire Alexander said. “The best of us can be here one day and gone the next.” Gutekunst said the Packers weren’t looking to move anybody but added that “the offer was kind of too good to pass up.” The Packers dealt Douglas and a fifth-round pick to Buffalo for a third-round pick. … Alexander, LG Elgton Jenkins, RB Aaron Jones, TE Luke Musgrave and OT Yosh Nijman were limited in practice Wednesday.
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