Giannis-less Milwaukee Bucks edge Miami Heat, Houston Rockets advance in NBA Cup

WASHINGTON – No Giannis Antetokounmpo, no problem, as there is Damian Lillard.

On Nov 26, the point guard scored 37 points to lead Milwaukee to a 106-103 victory at the Miami Heat in the NBA Cup despite playing without Antetokounmpo due to a left knee injury.

Lillard hit 10-of-17 from the floor, including eight-of-13 from three-point range, while passing off 12 assists in their wire-to-wire win. The Bucks improved to 3-0 in group play, while the Heat slid to 1-2.

“It’s a game of runs,” Lillard said. “I got off to a hot start. I didn’t try to force the issue. I didn’t want to be passive. I tried to stay aggressive. I was getting the ball out. We just made good plays.”

All 30 clubs play for the NBA Cup in an in-season tournament, with teams divided into six groups of five for round-robin play in the hopes of advancing to December knockout rounds. The games also count in the National Basketball Association (NBA) regular-season standings.

The Houston Rockets qualified for the quarter-finals but the surprise was in Miami, where Antetokounmpo was a late scratch, leaving Lillard to take the scoring load.

A 26-9 Heat run to end the third quarter cut a 22-point Milwaukee lead to 85-80 entering the fourth. And a 16-11 Miami run brought the hosts level at 96-96 with four minutes two seconds to play.

Milwaukee’s A.J. Green and Miami’s Terry Rozier traded three-pointers late, the last by Rozier lifting the Heat within 104-103 with 31 seconds remaining.

Miami’s Tyler Herro then missed a three-point shot and Milwaukee’s Taurean Prince sank two free throws with 1.2 seconds left, setting the stage for a Rozier three-point miss at the buzzer.

“Guys made shots, played aggressive, we got some stops when we needed it, we made some free throws and that’s what it takes to win close games,” Lillard added.

“We’ve just had a lot of experience in these games where we have lulls in the second half and get into a dogfight. We let a few go early in the season... everybody wants to improve. We want to get right from the jump and I think we’re starting to show that down the stretch in these games.”

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 23 points.

Houston became the second team to clinch an NBA Cup quarter-final berth, winning 117-111 in overtime at Minnesota to seal top spot in the West Group A. Golden State have already sealed first place in the West Group C.

Turkish centre Alperen Sengun had a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to spark Houston. The Rockets also got 27 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds from Fred VanVleet and 22 points from Dillon Brooks.

Reserve Amen Thompson’s basket with 38 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter levelled the game at 102-102. He sank a three-pointer to ignite an 11-0 Houston overtime run as baskets by Jabari Smith, Brooks and two from Sengun gave the Rockets a 113-105 lead with 54 seconds left.

The Timberwolves, led by 29 points from Anthony Edwards, never got within four after that.

Elsewhere, French star Victor Wembanyama scored 24 of his game-high 34 points in the first half to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 128-115 victory at Utah, eliminating the Jazz’s title hopes.

Phoenix stars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal returned from calf strains to spark the Suns over the defending NBA Cup champions Los Angeles Lakers 127-100.

Devin Booker had 26 points and 10 assists to lead the Suns while Beal and Durant each added 23 points.

“Felt great,” Durant said. “We needed this win. As long as we continue to be healthy, we’ll be fine.”

Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 25 points and 15 rebounds while LeBron James had 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the first Cup loss ever for the Lakers. AFP