NBA: Antetokounmpo's triple-double leads Bucks over Wizards

Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the NBA basketball game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Washington Wizards at Capitol One Arena in Washington DC, on March 15, 2021. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his third triple-double in as many games, and the Milwaukee Bucks held off a second-half surge to beat the host Washington Wizards, 133-122, on Monday (March 15) in Washington D.C.

Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his third consecutive triple-double - fourth, counting his Most Valuable Player-winning performance in the March 7 All-Star Game - and led three Bucks who scored at least 22 points.

Brook Lopez shot eight-of-12 from the floor for 22 points, and Khris Middleton added 23 points. The trio paced Milwaukee through a dominant first two-and-a-half quarters, pushing its lead to as many as 26 points in the third quarter.

Behind Bradley Beal, who scored 26 of his game-high 37 points in the second half, when Washington whittled away at the deficit during a run that started late in the third quarter and stretched into the fourth.

The Wizards pulled within seven points with a little more than four minutes remaining, but they did not get any closer. The Bucks put the game away over a stretch in the final three minutes when Antetokounmpo scored on back-to-back possessions, then found Lopez for his 10th and final assist for a 131-119 lead.

Seven Bucks scored in double-figures, with Jrue Holiday adding 15 points and Donte DiVincenzo netting 12. Bobby Portis notched 13 points off the bench, and Bryn Forbes made both of his three-point attempts en route to 10 points.

Washington got 23 points and a game-high 17 assists from Russell Westbrook.

Rui Hachimura, who produced a 29-point effort in Washington's 125-119 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday, followed up Monday with 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Hachimura shot four-of-nine from three-point range, while Beal went four-for-seven and Westbrook shot three-for-six from beyond the arc. Washington went 16-for-38 from outside as a team, outpacing Milwaukee's 11-for-28. The Bucks outrebounded Washington 46-33.

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