The Milwaukee Bucks overcame a 23-point first-quarter deficit to rally past the host Miami Heat 113-98 Friday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 33 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists, giving him his 49th double-double. Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe had 21 and 17 points, respectively, for the Bucks, who top the NBA with 52 wins, including 25 on the road. The Bucks outscored the Heat 71-36 in the second half to seize control of the game, and Milwaukee won its league-best 16th game when trailing by more than 10 points in a game this season. The Bucks won for the first time ever in 78 tries when trailing by at least 20 points at the half. Justise Winslow scored 20 — all in the first half — and Hassan Whiteside had 14. Josh Richardson scored 11, while Dwyane Wade, Bam Adebayo, Dion Waiters and Kelly Olynyk each had 10 for the Heat. Rockets 108, Suns 102 James Harden recorded a double-double, with his final assist resulting in a critical basket that helped cement Houston's win over visiting Phoenix. Harden posted 41 points and 11 assists and finished a rebound shy of a triple-double. He added six steals, but his final assist, a pass that resulted in a Danuel House Jr. 3-pointer with just under a minute left, provided the Rockets a 105-100 lead and sealed their 10th win in 11 games. House, seeing his first action since Jan. 14 after a contract dispute punched his ticket back to the G-League, scored 18 points and finished 4 of 8 from behind the arc. Spurs 109, Knicks 83 LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in three quarters to lead a balanced scoring attack as San Antonio throttled visiting New York to capture its seventh straight victory. The Spurs (40-29) have used their winning streak to fly up in the Western Conference standings and to move 11 games above .500, their best mark of the season. San Antonio posted its ninth consecutive victory at home and dominated the hapless Knicks, who have the NBA's worst record at 13-56 and have lost eight games in a row. 76ers 123, Kings 114 All five starters scored 18 or more points, propelling Philadelphia over visiting Sacramento. Joel Embiid had 21 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, while teammate Jimmy Butler collected seven assists to complement a game-high 22 points as the 76ers (44-25) moved back into a tie with idle Indiana (44-25) for the No. 3 playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Sacramento (33-35) lost a third straight contest, including its second in two nights. Trail Blazers 122, Pelicans 110 Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined for 47 points as visiting Portland held off short-handed New Orleans. Lillard scored 24 points and passed current Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge for second place on Portland's all-time scoring list. Clyde Drexler is the Blazers' all-time leading scorer. McCollum finished with 23 points, Enes Kanter and Rodney Hood added 17 points each, Zach Collins scored 12, and Jusuf Nurkic had 11 points and 12 rebounds as the Blazers improved to 8-3 since the All-Star break. Clippers 128, Bulls 121 Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points, and Los Angeles continued to better its playoff chances with a win over visiting Chicago. Montrezl Harrell scored 26 points off the bench, and Lou Williams had 21 in a reserve role for the Clippers, who remain tied for eighth in the Western Conference with the Utah Jazz. Los Angeles also moved six games ahead of the ninth-place Kings for the final playoff spot. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and fellow point guard Patrick Beverley finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Los Angeles, which has won six of seven. Lakers 111, Pistons 97 Langston Galloway scored 23 points off the bench, one shy of his season high, and host Detroit downed depleted Los Angeles. The Pistons snapped a two-game losing streak, while the Lakers lost for the seventh time in eight games. Reggie Jackson had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Andre Drummond powered for 19 points and 23 rebounds for the Pistons. The Lakers rested superstar forward LeBron James after he scored 29 points in a loss to Toronto Thursday. Tyson Chandler (neck), Josh Hart (knee) and Lance Stephenson (toe) also sat out. Hornets 116, Wizards 110 Kemba Walker scored 28 points, Jeremy Lamb added 18 and visiting Charlotte defeated Washington. Nicolas Batum and Tony Parker had 16 points each for the Hornets in a game between two of the teams chasing the Miami Heat for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Walker was coming off a 40-point effort in a loss to the Rockets. Bradley Beal, who had 15 points in a loss at Charlotte last Friday, had 23 by halftime Friday night and finished with 40 points on 15-of-29 shooting. — Reuters
