Wisconsin falters again, loses 91-83 to No. 13 Illinois
Wisconsin's ugly slide in the second half of the Big Ten season continued Saturday with a 91-83 loss to No. 13 Illinois at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers struggled to slow Wisconsin native Marcus Domask much of the day, as he put up a season-high 31 points, including going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Illini shot 9-for-16 on 3-pointers, as they beat Wisconsin for a seventh straight time. Future NBA first-round pick Terrance Shannon Jr. added 23 for Illinois, which improved to 13-5 in Big Ten play.
Coach Greg Gard's club, meanwhile, dropped its seventh game in the last nine outings, as 20 points and seven rebounds from Tyler Wahl was not enough. Max Klesmit added 16 points and five rebounds, while Chucky Hepburn had 15 points.
AJ Storr was also in double figures with 13 points and three rebounds. Steven Crowl was limited to four points in 14 minutes due to foul trouble. John Blackwell had seven of Wisconsin's 15 points off the bench before fouling out.
Seemingly energized by the return of former assistant coach Howard Moore to the Kohl Center for the first time since a 2019 car accident killed his wife and daughter and severely injured him, the Badgers got off to a good start. They led 14-5 early on before Illinois grabbed a 31-25 lead. But the Badgers closed on a 10-5 run to make it 39-37 at the break.
It was a game of runs in the second half, with Illinois going on a 9-2 run to take a 68-61 lead with 7:21 left only to see the Badgers answer with 3-pointers from Hepburn and Blackwell to help them tie it. But the Illini always had an answer and eventually pulled away for the win.
Defense, a season-long problem for the Badgers, was on display again as the Illini scored hot 1.38 points per possession. Three-point shooting, also a concern for Wisconsin much of the year, was a huge difference in the game as the Badgers started 2-for-10 before hitting a a couple late to get to 6-for-16 on the day. The loss dropped the Badgers to 5-7 in games decided by single digits, including 2-6 during their scuffles over the last month.
Wisconsin is now 18-11 on the year and 10-8 in Big Ten play. The team will finish out its home schedule on Thursday with a visit from Rutgers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has 46 points, 16 rebounds in Bucks' 113-97 victory over Bulls
CHICAGO (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks are tuning up for what they hope will be a deep playoff run. They're hitting more of the right notes.
Giannis Antetokounmpo dominated with 46 points and 16 rebounds and the Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 113-97 on Friday night.
Antetokounmpo surpassed Sidney Moncrief as the winningest Milwaukee player with his 489th victory counting the playoffs, and the Bucks came away with their fifth straight win.
There were several heated exchanges, and Chicago's Nikola Vucevic got ejected. Otherwise, there wasn't much drama.
The Bucks led by 14 at halftime and went on a 17-0 run after Chicago pulled within eight early in the fourth. They also gave up fewer than 100 points for the fourth straight game.
“We’re winning games, but for us, it’s not about right now,” said coach Doc Rivers, who's 8-7 since replacing the fired Adrian Griffin. “Our whole key is getting ready. That's the first thing I told them. We still have work to do, we're still pushing, we got to get better. It's nicer to get wins than to lose, but we're not where we want to be yet.”
But the signs, at least lately, are promising, particularly when it comes to the defense. This was the sixth time in the past nine games the Bucks held an opponent under 100 points; they did it just once in the first 52.
“Everybody has to be on the same page, and I feel like the last couple of games, we're doing that and that's why our defense has taken a step,” said Antetokounmpo, who had six assists and made two 3-pointers. “Hopefully, we can keep it up.”
Damian Lillard scored 16 points. Patrick Beverley added 14 points to help the Bucks beat the Bulls for the third time in four games this season.
Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan became the 35th player in NBA history with 23,000 points. The six-time All-Star scored 12 points — all but two in the second half — and was 5 of 13 from the field after missing his first six shots.
DeRozan got into it with Bobby Portis late in the third quarter. He picked up a flagrant foul and technical on the play, and criticized the referees after the game.
“I think as far as officiating, just call it fair,” DeRozan said. “I think that’s more so where the frustration comes from. When we come down, we feel like we getting hit. They come down and we barely touching them but they’re getting the call. That kind of stings. Just the fairness of the calls I kind of think was the main focal of our frustration more so than anything.”
Coby White scored 22 points.
Vucevic had 17 points and nine rebounds before getting ejected early in the fourth quarter. Upset over a no-call when he missed a shot, he then delivered a hard foul on a driving A.J. Green and got thrown out with 9:27 remaining.
It was 84-76 after White hit two foul shots just under a minute into the fourth. But Green hit a 3 and the Bucks buried the Bulls from there.
“Right now, it's just trust,” Antetokounmpo said. “We've just got to trust one another. That's it, win or lose. ... (When we lose) it's gonna stink, but we have to have the same trust.”
Antetokounmpo had 23 points and eight rebounds as the Bucks grabbed a 58-44 halftime lead.
The two-time MVP simply had his way, whether he was making layups and dunks or setting up his teammates. He delivered a highlight reel play in the opening minutes when he drove and flipped a no-look, over-the-shoulder pass to Brook Lopez near the top of the key for a 3.
The Bucks led by 15 in the first quarter before the Bulls pulled within four early in the second. Milwaukee outscored Chicago 14-6 over the final four minutes of the half to break open a six-point game. Lillard started that spurt with a finger roll and two free throws.
Antetokounmpo had an alley-oop layup in the closing minute to make it a 13-point game. DeRozan then got his first two points for Chicago when he made two free throws, but Jae Crowder nailed a corner 3 at the buzzer to send the Bucks to the locker room with a 14-point lead.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 24 points, Bucks beat Hornets 111-99 to sweep season series
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 10 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks swept the four-game season series with Charlotte, beating the Hornets 111-99 on Thursday night to finish a home-and-home set.
Malik Beasley added 19 points — hitting five 3-pointers — and Bobby Portis had 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Bucks shot 16 of 39 from beyond the arc to give coach Doc Rivers his first four-game winning streak with the team.
The Bucks thrashed the Hornets by an average of 29.2 points this season — the largest margin in team history — after outscoring them by 38, 36 and 31 in the other three games. This game was closer, but not by much.
“It's veterans versus young players,” Rivers said about the matchup with the Hornets, three of which come after he was hired. “(Hornets coach) Steve Clifford is a hell of a coach and it's obvious to see, but he's a got a bunch of young guys who are learning how to play winning basketball. And one of his best players (LaMelo Ball) is out.”
Milwaukee shot 55% in the first half, including 9 of 18 on 3s, to build a 19-point lead at the break and was seriously challenged in the second half.
The Bucks have moved the ball extremely well during their four-game winning emphasizing extra passes to turn good shots into great ones.
Portis said that is a reflection on Rivers’ leadership.
“Shout to Doc,” Portis said. “Having a guy that can sit down with everybody and tell every player what he expects from them, it makes you own your role more. And I think the ball finds energy when you move it, play free and drive and kick. The ball finds the right man and everybody just lines up and shoots it.”
Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 21 points and Miles Bridges added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
It looked early on like it would be a replay of Tuesday night when the Bucks held the Hornets to 26 points in the first half en route to a 123-85 victory in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee jumped out to a 10-2 lead behind a driving dunk from Antetokounmpo to take control early.
The Hornets briefly clawed back into the game late in the first quarter after Thanasis Antetokounmpo was whistled for a technical foul on the bench for arguing a non-foul call against his younger brother Giannis. Thanasis Antetokounmpo screamed at officials after a scramble for the ball under the basket involving his brother and Charlotte's Bridges and Grant Williams. Giannis Antetokounmpo eventually came up with the loose ball and scored off the glass.
But the Hornets couldn't sustain the momentum, as the Bucks closed the first half with a 24-10 run behind Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who finished with 17 points.
Clifford wasn't real happy with his team's defense.
“We gave up drives where we just had wrong stances, wrong angles and no help,” Clifford said. “Guys should not be blowing by us like they were."
Miller said the Bucks are playing at a “high clip,” adding that "I think they’re getting ready for the playoffs, so of course it’s a great team.”
UP NEXT
Bucks: At Chicago on Friday night.
Hornets: At Philadelphia on Friday night.
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Bucks roll to 123-85 blowout of Hornets for their third consecutive victory
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points, Damian Lillard had 23 points and Bobby Portis scored 21 as the Milwaukee Bucks pounded the Charlotte Hornets 123-85 for their most lopsided victory of the season on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee rolled to a 58-26 lead at the break by holding Charlotte to the lowest point total any team had produced in a half all season. This represented the second-lowest point total the Bucks had ever allowed in the first half of a game, behind only the 25 they yielded in a 94-81 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on March 3, 1972.
Milwaukee has won three straight since the All-Star break to improve to 6-7 under coach Doc Rivers. The Bucks have allowed fewer than 100 points in four of their last seven contests after reaching that goal just once in their first 52 games of the season.
This blowout enabled the Bucks to give their two biggest stars some extra rest as they began a four-day stretch in which they play three games. Lillard had nine rebounds and seven assists before leaving the game with 5 ½ minutes left in the third quarter. Antetokounmpo departed 1 ½ minutes later.
Brook Lopez went scoreless but had two blocks to move into second place on the Bucks' career list with 806, breaking a tie with Alton Lister. Antetokounmpo is the Bucks' career blocks leader with 966.
Lopez has 1,876 blocks over his 16-year career, including a franchise-record 972 with the Brooklyn Nets from 2008-17.
Miles Bridges scored 17, Tre Mann 16, Brandon Miller 14 and Davis Bertans 12 for the Hornets, who lost for just the second time in their last seven games.
The Bucks have romped in each of their three matchups with the Hornets this season. They won 130-99 in Charlotte on Nov. 17 and 120-84 in Milwaukee on Feb. 9.
Charlotte had overhauled its roster since the last time these two teams faced each other by acquiring Mann, Bertans, Grant Williams, Vasa Micic and Seth Curry at the trade deadline. Those players had helped the Hornets surge the past couple of weeks, but they couldn’t do anything to stop the Bucks.
The Bucks had missed their first five 3-point attempts before Lillard made a move that sent Charlotte’s Cody Martin sprawling to the floor and hit a wide-open 3-pointer to break an 11-all tie.
That spectacular play was part of a 15-0 run for the Bucks that turned an 11-9 deficit into a 24-11 lead. Lillard scored eight points during that stretch and capped the spurt with another 3-pointer.
Portis scored 12 points in the first 6 ½ minutes of the second quarter to help the Bucks break the game open. Charlotte scored just 10 points in the second quarter while shooting 3 of 21 overall and 1 of 13 from 3-point range.
The Bucks eventually led by as many as 49.
UP NEXT
The Hornets and Bucks face off again Thursday night in Charlotte.
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Bucks beat 76ers 119-98 in Doc Rivers' return to Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points, Damian Lillard added 24 and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the 76ers 119-98 on Sunday in Doc Rivers’ return to Philadelphia.
Rivers was fired by Philadelphia after last season. He coached the 76ers from 2020-23, never getting past the second round of the playoffs, and Sunday was 12th game since taking over in Milwaukee.
“It was awesome,” Rivers said of his return. “I had three good years here, and I’m not talking about basketball, I’m talking about life. I enjoyed my stay here. I have made friends for life. The fans were good, too. There were a couple hilarious comments. One guy told me that Larry David was looking for me to golf. I thought that was pretty funny.”
Rivers was greeted by a chorus of boos from the sellout crowd during introductions, but his team quickly took the crowd out of the game with a blistering first quarter.
Lillard scored the first seven points for the Bucks and finished with 11 points in the quarter as Milwaukee built a 14-point lead.
“I thought we were consistent,” Lillard said. "We got into the paint, we were willing to make the extra pass to find the open guy and we got quality looks. To play good offense you find quality shots and have a lot of mix. I thought that’s what we did.”
Antetokounmpo, who also finished with 12 rebounds and nine assists, wrapped up the first half with a flourish, hitting a driving layup and also making a full-court pass to Brook Lopez for a dunk as the horn sounded to give Milwaukee its largest lead at 21 points. Philadelphia never got closer than 12 points in the second half.
Antetokounmpo went to the free throw line more times himself (12) than the entire 76ers team (11).
Rivers credited that to his team’s defense.
“We had been putting such an emphasis on defense,” Rivers said. “The last few games we’ve been terrific. When you have Giannis on your team, if you can get stops and get him in transition, Giannis in transition is a problem for everybody.”
Malik Beasley added 20 points and Bobby Portis Jr. had 17 as Milwaukee won its second straight game coming out of the All-Star break after going 3-7 in Rivers’ first 10 games as coach.
"It all comes down to communicating,” Beasley said. “Today was one of the first times we all were communicating. (Before) we were getting mixed up making sure we stay with our own guy or switch. We did a great job with that today.”
Tyrese Maxey had 24 points and De’Anthony Melton added 16 for the 76ers, who have dropped eight of 12 games since losing reigning MVP Joel Embiid to a left knee injury in January.
“We have a lot of guards and a big man shortage,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said. “We’re trying to figure some things out. But we still have to do a little bit better of a job of ‘drive and kick’ style basketball with this group of guys. We’ve got to get organized. We’ve got to be more organized on the offensive end.”
UP NEXT
Bucks: Host Charlotte on Tuesday.
76ers: Travel to Boston on Tuesday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Bucks overtake Timberwolves 112-107 behind 33 points from Antetokounmpo
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 13 rebounds to help the Milwaukee Bucks surge out of the All-Star break with a 112-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
Minnesota dropped into a tie with Oklahoma City for the Western Conference lead at 39-17. The Thunder routed Washington 147-106 earlier Friday.
Anthony Edwards made three 3-pointers in the final 1:58 to give the Wolves a late chance after falling behind by 17 points late in the third quarter, but Damian Lillard iced it for the Bucks with a pullup 21-footer with 10.3 seconds left for the five-point lead.
“You can’t let yourself get too caught up in the misses. I knew eventually they would fall,” said Lillard, who had 21 points, 10 assists and a season-high nine rebounds to overshadow an 8-for-23 shooting night and help the Bucks (36-21) improve to just 4-7 under new coach Doc Rivers.
Malik Beasley scored all 14 of his points in the third, when the Bucks outscored the Wolves 36-13.
“We've got to be better,” coach Chris Finch said. "We were hustling, but we weren’t sharp.”
Karl-Anthony Towns (22 points, 14 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (12 points, 19 rebounds) helped the Wolves build a 32-14 second-chance points advantage, but their sloppy third quarter was too much to overcome.
“We just had a great energy about us,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said.
With two All-Stars on each side and both coaching staffs having represented each conference at the league's midseason showcase last weekend, ESPN grabbed this game for a national broadcast in the late-night window. The crowd, including plenty of Bucks fans, matched the moment.
Beasley, the streaky corner shooter who spent two-plus seasons with the Wolves before going to Utah in the Gobert trade two summers ago and switching teams twice more, didn't take a single shot in the first half. Rivers even held up the stat sheet in the locker room to emphasize that problem, and ball movement was the key to the rally. Beasley made four 3-pointers in the third, fueling a 23-4 run over a 4:41 stretch and striking a pose after the fourth one with a backside wiggle to accentuate the 87-70 lead.
“That opens up the door to perform well down the stretch, where guys aren’t just randomly expected to make a shot,” Lillard said.
The Bucks, though still solidly in third place in the Eastern Conference, are trying to find their footing under Rivers after the surprising midseason switch. Three-time All-Star Khris Middleton missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left ankle, further hampering the effort.
Lillard, who was the All-Star Game MVP and 3-point shooting contest champ last weekend, has yet to find his groove next to Antetokounmpo on his new team. He entered the evening shooting 34.1% from 3-point range, the second-lowest rate in his 12 seasons in the NBA, and went just 2 for 8 in this game.
Lopez, who finished with 16 points, made all four of his 3-pointers in the first quarter to give the Bucks an early spark. Antetokounmpo got his drive going in the second. Then Beasley took over the third.
“You have to be able to lean on your defense down the stretch and our guys are starting to believe that,” Rivers said.
The Wolves, who played their first of seven straight home games, showed the dreaded post-break rust for most of the game.
“Probably came out in the second half a little too comfortable, I feel like,” Edwards said.
UP NEXT
Bucks: Visit Philadelphia on Sunday. Rivers coached the 76ers the previous three seasons.
Timberwolves: Host Brooklyn on Saturday.
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Hafley says he wasn't looking to leave BC. But the chance to join Packers' staff was too tempting
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jeff Hafley says he wasn’t necessarily looking to get out of college football before he left his job as Boston College’s head coach to become the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator.
Hafley, 44, said he simply received an opportunity that was too appealing to turn down. He cited the chance to work with Packers coach Matt LaFleur, the talent of Green Bay’s roster and the history of the Packers.
“As a guy that grew up loving football, it’s the Green Bay Packers,” Hafley said Thursday in his first news conference since making the move. “This is like the mecca of the football world to me and probably to most people who grew up loving football. Just being here and driving into Lambeau every day, it still feels surreal.”
Hafley, who went 22-26 in four seasons at Boston College, is among a handful of people who voluntarily left head coaching jobs at Football Bowl Subdivision programs to become assistants elsewhere.
These moves have come as the college game goes through big changes with players being permitted to transfer without sitting out a season and having the opportunity to profit from their name, image and likeness.
Chip Kelly left UCLA after going 35-34 in six seasons to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. Shawn Elliott, a former South Carolina interim head coach, rejoined the Gamecocks as tight ends coach and running game coordinator after a 41-44 record in seven seasons at Georgia State.
South Alabama’s Kane Wommack and Buffalo’s Maurice Linguist left their respective head coaching positions to join new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer’s staff.
Hafley’s move was unique because he left the college ranks entirely to move to the NFL. Most head coaches who make this transition do it for another head coaching opportunity, such as when Jim Harbaugh took over the Los Angeles Chargers after leading Michigan to the national title.
Although Hafley said it was difficult to leave Boston College and the “players that I loved, staff that I loved, the leadership at the school,” he acknowledged his job had changed quite a bit from when he arrived in 2020.
“When I got the BC job, COVID hit,” Hafley said. “I got to know my team over Zoom. We had masks on in practice and that was way different than anything I’d never experienced. Then the next year the transfer portal came in, which was like, all right, now I have to recruit players, but I also have to keep the guys that are on my team from leaving. There’s no contracts, so you recruit a guy and develop a guy, and all of a sudden he can leave.
“And then came paying players, NIL, so it was a storm basically, since I got the head job, of things that kept getting thrown at you. But you do the best you can and you adapt. Certainly college football has changed and I do think that — I’m not going to get on a soapbox here today — but what I will say is I that do think there needs some things to change. It’s still a great game and there’s still great coaches, but it changed a lot since I started that job.”
Hafley’s arrival means Green Bay will shift to a 4-3 defense after operating a 3-4 under former coordinator Joe Barry, who was fired after three years on the job.
Although Hafley had spent the past five years in the college ranks — spending one season as Ohio State’s co-defensive coordinator before taking over Boston College’s program — he has an NFL background from coaching defensive backs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-13), Cleveland Browns (2014-15) and San Francisco 49ers (2016-18).
“Really excited what he’s going to bring,” LaFleur said. “Certainly it will be a different scheme, but I think it’s one that will be easy to adjust to with the personnel that we have.”
NOTES: Although the Packers haven’t announced any changes on the defensive staff aside from the change at coordinator, Hafley said he is bringing in Derrick Ansley, Anthony Campanile and Vince Oghobaase. Ansley was the Chargers’ defensive coordinator, Campanile coached the Miami Dolphins’ linebackers and Oghobaase was Boston College’s defensive line coach this past season. … LaFleur said he is hiring Sean Mannion as an offensive assistant who will work primarily with quarterbacks. Mannion has been an NFL reserve quarterback for the past nine seasons and spent 2023 on practice squads with the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks.
Woodruff staying with Brewers on backloaded 2-year deal worth $17.5 million
PHOENIX (AP) — Brandon Woodruff is staying with the Milwaukee Brewers after all.
The right-hander has finalized a backloaded $17.5 million, two-year contract with Milwaukee that includes a mutual option for the 2026 season. The deal was completed three months after the Brewers allowed the injured pitcher to test free agency rather than tendering him a contract for 2024.
“I’ve still got a lot of, I guess you could say unfinished business in a Brewers uniform,” Woodruff said Wednesday in a Zoom session with reporters. “That's the way I feel about it. That's why I'm so super excited because for a second, I thought that was the end of it.”
Milwaukee also announced the signing of catcher Gary Sánchez on Wednesday to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2025. Sánchez hit 19 homers last season while playing for the San Diego Padres and New York Mets.
The 31-year-old Woodruff is expected to miss most, if not all, of the upcoming season while he recovers from shoulder surgery. But the new contract could keep the two-time All-Star with the Brewers when he returns to the mound, whether that’s this year or next year.
“Back in November when we non-tendered Brandon, we said we had to make a very difficult decision relating to one of the best pitchers and human beings in franchise history,” Brewers President of Baseball Operations Matt Arnold said Wednesday in a statement. “We also said we remained very open to his return to Milwaukee. Today, I am thrilled to say that Brandon has returned to the Brewers family. We look forward to guiding Brandon through his rehabilitation and ultimate return to the mound at American Family Field.”
Woodruff will receive $2.5 million this year and $5 million in 2025. The deal includes a $20 million mutual option for 2026 with a $10 million buyout, half payable on Jan. 15, 2026, and the remainder on July 15, 2026. The contract also grants Woodruff a full no-trade provision and a hotel suite on road trips.
When the Brewers made the decision to non-tender him, Woodruff was eligible for arbitration and would have been under team control for one more year. He had surgery in October.
Regarding his possible availability for the upcoming season, Woodruff said he was going to follow the orders of Texas Rangers team doctor Keith Meister, who performed the surgery.
“I’ll take it day to day, week to week, month to month, see where I’m at, at the end of the year,” Woodruff said. “If it makes sense, maybe. If not, I’ll be ready to go for ’25.”
The Brewers believe Woodruff's veteran leadership and clubhouse presence can provide a boost even if he's unable to pitch this season.
“I'm going to be a big cheerleader this year,” Woodruff said. “I look forward to that. I think it's one thing that will help me grow mentally. And I can get to a spot physically like how I want to throughout this year. I just think being available for guys is going to be a big thing, and just trying to help out any way I can.”
Woodruff went 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 67 innings last season despite missing four months with inflammation in his right shoulder. On the day before Game 1 of their NL Wild Card Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Brewers announced Woodruff had hurt his shoulder again.
The injury prevented Woodruff from pitching in the Brewers’ 2-0 series loss to the eventual NL champion Diamondbacks.
Woodruff is 46-26 with a 3.10 ERA in seven seasons with Milwaukee.
Sánchez, 31, batted .217 with a .288 on-base percentage, .492 slugging percentage and 47 RBIs in a combined 75 games for the Padres and Mets last season. He played three games for the Mets and 72 games for the Padres.
He owns a .225 career batting average with a .309 on-base percentage, 173 homers and 448 RBIs in 741 regular-season games, also playing for the New York Yankees (2015-21) and Minnesota Twins (2022).
The NL Central champion Brewers already have William Contreras returning at catcher after he batted .289 with 17 homers and 78 RBIs last season.
Milwaukee lost its backup catcher when Victor Caratini signed with the Houston Astros, though the Brewers have since signed Eric Haase to a major league deal and Austin Nola to a minor league deal.
“Gary Sánchez brings an experienced right-handed power bat to our lineup,” Arnold said. “He will be a great complement behind the plate to William Contreras and also a valuable asset in the designated-hitter role.”
To make room on the roster, the Brewers designated infielder Jahmai Jones for assignment.
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Badgers fall in double OT at Iowa for 5th loss in last 6 games
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Tony Perkins’ layup with 1.3 seconds left gave Iowa an 88-86 overtime win over No. 20 Wisconsin on Saturday.
Perkins, who had 16 of his 18 points in the second half and overtime, drove the right side of the lane, nearly losing the ball before recovering to hit the winning shot. Iowa’s Payton Sandfort then intercepted Carter Gilmore's inbounds pass to close the win.
Wisconsin had a chance to take the lead with 15 seconds left and the score tied at 86, but Max Klesmit missed a 3-pointer.
Owen Freeman led Iowa (15-11, 7-8 Big Ten) with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Sandfort had 18 points. Josh Dix scored 17.
Steven Crowl had 22 points to lead Wisconsin (17-9, 9-6). AJ Storr had 21 points and Chucky Hepburn scored 18.
Wisconsin opened the game by outscoring the Hawkeyes 17-6 in the first four minutes. The Badgers made 12 of their first 15 shots, building a 13-point lead before Iowa rallied. The Hawkeyes made seven of their last nine shots of the half, getting to within 47-43 at halftime.
Iowa built a nine-point lead on two occasions in the second half, then the Hawkeyes went almost six minutes without a field goal. Wisconsin took a 78-76 lead with 1:02 remaining on Tyler Wahl’s layup, then Iowa tied the game on Perkins’ drive with 42 seconds remaining.
Both teams had chances to win the game in the closing seconds of the second half. Hepburn missed a 3-point attempt with 14 seconds left, and then Perkins missed on a drive to the basket with two seconds left.
BIG PICTURE
Wisconsin: The Badgers came in having lost four of their last five games and had a chance to take control late as the Hawkeyes faded, but missed key shots down the stretch. They scored the first points of overtime, but didn’t score in the final 1:46.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes have either been slow starters or slow finishers for most of the Big Ten season. They were both in this game and it almost proved costly. Iowa wore down in the second half — Perkins and Freeman played the entire half — as the Badgers rallied. But the Hawkeyes made big shots late in the overtime and scored a crucial win to help any postseason hopes.
UP NEXT
Wisconsin: Hosts Maryland on Tuesday night.
Iowa: Visits Michigan State on Tuesday night.
Giannis goes for 35 and 12 but Bucks drop last game before All-Star Break
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ziaire Williams and GG Jackson scored 27 points apiece, and the Memphis Grizzlies held on for a 113-110 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night in the last game for both teams before the All-Star break.
Vince Williams added 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for Memphis. Ziaire Williams' points were a career high.
“It feels good,” Ziaire Williams said of the win over the No. 3 team in the Eastern Conference. “Proud of this team. We've been fighting our (tails) off every game. It's good to see. One man falls down, and another one steps up. We're just having fun.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 35 points and 12 assists, his 43rd double-double of the season. Damian Lillard finished with 24 points and seven assists. Bobby Portis added 15 points and Brook Lopez had 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, but coach Doc Rivers thought some of his players got caught looking ahead to the break.
“We had some guys here, and some guys in Cabo (San Lucas),” Rivers said.
Memphis held a nine-point lead with 49 seconds left, but consecutive 3-pointers from Malik Beasley brought the Bucks within 113-110 with 29.2 left. Milwaukee had the last possession, but a scramble at midcourt for the ball took up a lot of the remaining clock, and Lillard's 3-pointer at the horn was short as Memphis won its second straight.
“I think (Lillard) just got caught up in traffic,” Rivers said.
Lillard said there was some miscommunication between he and Lopez that started the last play in a bad direction.
“We did opposite things,” Lillard said, adding: “They just made a play on it, and it was loose and we didn't end up getting a clean look.”
While the teams were deadlocked at the half, Memphis took the lead to nine points on a couple of occasions near the midway point of the third. But the Grizzlies' depleted frontline could do little to stop Antetokounmpo going downhill on his drives to the basket.
Three quick buckets inside with about 5 minutes to play gave Milwaukee a 100-98 lead. The teams would trade leads until a 3-pointer from Jackson and an alley-oop dunk by Ziaire Williams and the ensuing foul shot took the Memphis lead to 107-102 with 2:15 left.
The Memphis lead would reach 92-82 late in the third as the Grizzlies shot 76% in the period, including connecting on all four 3-points attempts. That as the only 10-point lead for either team in the game.
Milwaukee got off to a poor start, something that worried Rivers even in his pregame comments. With the break looming, he worried his team may have already departed mentally.
“These are tough games,” Rivers said, as if predicting the tone of the game against the short-handed Grizzlies. “Yeah, it's a panic game for coaches.”
The Grizzlies announced after the game they had lost another player, saying Scotty Pippen Jr. would miss at least three weeks with a bulging disk in his lower back.
For the first half, Milwaukee couldn't shake Memphis, and the teams were tied at 57 at the break. Antetokounmpo took over in the second quarter, with 10 points — hitting all five of his shots — and handing out four assists.
Jackson led the Grizzlies with 19 points.
He wasn't as successful in the second half, but managed a couple of 3-pointers in the final five minutes as the Bucks were trying to make a comeback. The 19-year-old, who was the 45th pick in last year's draft, said despite his young age, he wasn't feeling the pressure.
“It's what every basketball player wants,” Jackson said. “If they don't want to be in that moment, you have to question what kind of athlete they are.”
UP NEXT
Bucks: Visit Minnesota on Feb. 23.
Grizzlies: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 23.
