AROUND THE NBA Recaps of Monday’s games

Bucks 107, Pistons 104

DETROIT

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 12 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks held on for a victory over the Detroit Pistons when Blake Griffin missed a last-second 3-pointer. Griffin finished with 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but he also had 10 turnovers. The Pistons rallied from a 15-point, third-quarter deficit and took an 89-86 lead in the fourth when Stanley Johnson connected from 3-point range. Milwaukee was up 100-99 when Eric Bledsoe of the Bucks missed three straight free throws — but Antetokounmpo briefly took over after that. Antetokounmpo put Milwaukee up by three with a dunk, then added a three-point play and a driving layup to make it 107-100. The Pistons rallied and had the ball with a chance to tie. Griffin missed from beyond the arc, and after Jose Calderon came up with an offensive rebound, Griffin missed again.

Suns 128, Knicks 110

NEW YORK

Devin Booker tied his season high with 38 points, T.J. Warren scored 17 of his 26 during Phoenix’s 41-point third quarter and the Suns beat the New York Knicks for their third straight victory. Phoenix outscored New York 41-17 in the third and went on to win three consecutive games for the first time since March 2-5, 2017. The Suns won only four times in their first 28 games, but are 3 for 3 since. Deandre Ayton finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns. Emmanuel Mudiay had 32 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Knicks, who lost for the seventh time in eight games. Rookie forward Kevin Knox scored 17. New York played without leading scorer Tim Hardaway Jr. because of a sore right heel.

Thunder 121, Bulls 96

OKLAHOMA CITY

Paul George scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the final five minutes of the first half and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled to a victory over the Chicago Bulls. George’s scoring outburst came in the final 4:47 of the second quarter as Oklahoma City outscored the Bulls 23-7 and built a 64-44 lead by the break. He scored just one point in the second half. Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 16 rebounds and 11 steals for his 111th career triple-double. Steven Adams added 19 points and Dennis Schroder scored 18 for the Thunder. Lauri Markkanen and Bobby Portis had 16 points apiece to lead Chicago. Markkanen adding 15 rebounds. The game was halted for several minutes with 4:27 left in the second quarter after a melee broke out near the Thunder bench when Chicago’s Cameron Payne fouled Terrance Ferguson and, nearly simultaneously, Westbrook and Kris Dunn exchanged pushes. Eventually the shoving matches spilled into the front row between the bench and the scorer’s table, with Robin Lopez and Jerami Grant locking up. Eventually, Westbrook and Grant were assessed technical fouls for Oklahoma City, while Dunn and Lopez were whistled for technicals for the Bulls.

Timberwolves 132, Kings 105

MINNEAPOLIS

Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points and 14 assists in just 21 minutes, Andrew Wiggins scored 17 and the Minnesota Timberwolves got a big boost from their bench in a win against the road-weary Sacramento Kings. Derrick Rose added 13 points and a season-high 11 assists while starting for injured point guard Jeff Teague. Minnesota led by 36 in the first half against Sacramento. Buddy Hield scored 21 points for the Kings but didn’t play in the second half. Sacramento coach Dave Joerger didn’t play any of his starters after halftime.

Rockets 102, Jazz 97

HOUSTON

James Harden scored 47 points to help the Houston Rockets hold off the Utah Jazz for their fourth straight win. Houston led by double digits early in the fourth quarter, but poor shooting left the Rockets tied with about two minutes left. Donovan Mitchell was fouled by Eric Gordon on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws to cut the lead to two with 35 seconds left. Then, under heavy pressure from Ricky Rubio, Harden stepped back and hit a 3 to make it 102-97 with 13.3 seconds left, securing the victory. Mitchell had 23 points for the Jazz, who have lost four of five. Harden, who made 15 of 16 free throws, had six rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Spurs 123, 76ers 96

SAN ANTONIO

Rudy Gay had 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan each added 20 as San Antonio Spurs defeated the Philadelphia 76ers. J.J. Redick and Ben Simmons each had 16 points to lead the 76ers. Joel Embiid was limited to 13 points on 6-for-17 shooting and finished with 11 rebounds. Aldridge added 10 rebounds and DeRozan had seven assists for the Spurs, who closed a six-game home stand at 5-1. Gay is averaging 14 points this season, but has averaged 18.8 points in his last seven games. Gay has scored 20-plus points five times through 27 games. He accomplished that feat in 57 games last season. Both teams pulled their starters midway through the fourth quarter

Associated Press