The Japan Times - Kings edge Clippers in double OT thriller, Bucks win but Giannis hurt

The scoring festival in Los Angeles capped a night of outstanding individual performances and an injury scare for Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Milwaukee Bucks' 128-99 victory over the Miami Heat.

Malik Monk scored 45 points off the bench for Sacramento, his three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation tying it at 153-153 -- enough to force overtime when Clippers star Kawhi Leonard missed a desperate attempt at the buzzer.

Monk made two free throws to tie it up late in overtime, and when Paul George missed a potential game-winner they went to the second extra session.

The Clippers, who had led by 14 with 4:25 left in regulation, were up by six with 1:57 left in the second overtime, but the Kings wouldn't be denied.

Another three-pointer by Monk and a steal and basket from De'Aaron Fox gave them the lead, and Leonard and teammate Nicolas Batum both missed chances for the Clippers in the waning seconds.

Fox finished with 42 points for the Kings, who had seven players in double figures.

Monk said he was inspired by those questioning whether the resurgent Kings -- now third in the Western Conference -- will be able to stay the course in the final push to the playoffs.

"I kind of took that personally on myself to come out here and play hard," he said. "I think my teammates followed right behind me."

Leonard led the Clippers with 44 points, Paul George added 34 and 10 rebounds and Russell Westbrook, starting in his Clippers debut after a trade from the Lakers, scored 17 points and handed out 14 assists before fouling out in the second overtime.

The 351 total points were the second-most scored in an NBA game, behind the Detroit Pistons' 186-184 triple-overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on December 13, 1983.

"I thought it was a great game, especially for the fans," said Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. "A crazy game, a lot of momentum shifts."

- Antetokounmpo injures knee -

It was good-news, bad-news for the Milwaukee Bucks, who had Antetokounmpo in the starting lineup despite a wrist injury suffered in their last game before the All-Star break.

They shook off his first-quarter exit with a right knee injury to beat the Heat and push their winning streak to 13 games.

The Bucks, who out-scored the Heat 42-32 in the first to seize control, didn't miss a beat as Jrue Holiday scored 24 points to lead six Milwaukee players in double figures.

Bobby Portis, back after an 11-game injury absence, added 18 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Bucks, who are just half a game behind the Boston Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said he didn't see when Antetokounmpo got hurt.

"I'm pretty sure that either on a drive or a screen or something like that, that he knocked knees with somebody and just wasn't able to return," Budenholzer said, adding that he had no immediate information on the severity of the injury.

Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 23 points. Bam Adebayo added 18 and Tyler Herro had 14. But Miami connected on just nine of their 40 three-point attempts

The Bucks made 19 three-pointers on the way to their biggest margin of victory this season.

In Washington, New York Knicks All-Star forward Julius Randle matched his career high with 46 points in a 115-109 victory over the Wizards.

Randle drained seven three-pointers and helped the Knicks erase an early 19-point deficit on the way to a fourth straight victory.

- 12 Thompson three-pointers -

Klay Thompson scored 42 points and equaled his season high with a dozen three-pointers in the Golden State Warriors' 116-101 victory over the Houston Rockets.

The defending champion Warriors were without injured star Stephen Curry along with Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, but Thompson helped them bounce back from a loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles a day before.

In Atlanta, the Hawks -- fueled by 34 points from Trae Young -- shook off any uncertainty lingering after coach Nate McMillan was fired on Tuesday with a 136-119 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In Chicago, the Bulls embarrassed the Brooklyn Nets 131-87.

Zach LaVine scored 32 points to pace the Bulls -- who led by as many as 50 against a Nets team that scored just 29 points in the first half.

T.Sasaki--JT