The Japan Times - Suns cruise to 11th straight win, Giannis' triple-double powers Bucks

Bridges shot 10-of-14 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds as he posted his second-straight season-high total after scoring 26 points against San Antonio on Sunday.

Chris Paul finished with 20 points and 14 assists and Cam Johnson came off the bench to score 16 points for the Suns, who continued their best start to the season in franchise history. They had won 18 games in a row from October to December.

"We have a mission to get to the championship," Booker said. "We bring it every day. Even in our losses, we are trying to find ways to improve."

Part-time player Kyrie Irving scored a team-high 26 points, while James Harden had 22 for the Nets, who have lost five straight. Reserve Blake Griffin scored 17 points.

This was just the ninth game of the season for Irving, who can only play road games for the Nets because he refuses to get vaccinated.

The Suns took a 91-82 lead into the fourth quarter and never looked back.

In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo posted his fourth triple-double of the season as the Milwaukee Bucks handed the Washington Wizards their sixth straight loss with a 112-98 victory.

Washington erased a 17-point third-quarter deficit and even took an 86-83 lead on Rui Hachimura's three-pointer with 8:28 to play, but the Bucks outscored Washington 29-12 down the stretch.

"We have to realize that in order for us to be great, we've got to play hard. We cannot expect that people are just going to hand us the game when we go out there," Antetokounmpo said.

"People are coming for us. People are hunting us right now. They get excited when they see, ‘Milwaukee Bucks, world champs.' We've got to play every single night hard and build that habit."

Antetokounmpo finished with 33 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists, the third straight time he has scored at least 30 points when making a triple-double.

The Bucks were coming off a 136-100 home loss to the Denver Nuggets.

"That wasn't us as a team," Antetokounmpo said of the Nuggets game. "I don't remember the last time I lost by 36 in Milwaukee. Obviously, that was kind of embarrassing, but at the end of the night, those nights are going to happen. But we were able to come out (tonight), play hard and play together, try to set the tone."

Jrue Holiday scored 22 points, Bobby Portis 17, Khris Middleton 13 and Grayson Allen 10 for the Bucks.

Kyle Kuzma had 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards, who were missing all-star guard Bradley Beal, out with a left wrist sprain.

Montrezl Harrell came off the bench to score 20 points, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 12 in the loss. Spencer Dinwiddie finished with seven points, seven rebounds and nine assists.

- 'Wolves cruise -

Elsewhere, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished seven assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 130-115 win over Denver.

Taurean Prince added 23 points for the Timberwolves, who have won two games in a row and 10 of their past 15. Jarred Vanderbilt finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Malik Beasley and Naz Reid each finished with 12.

Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Nuggets, who had their five-game win streak halted. Will Barton and Monte Morris had 13 points apiece for Denver.

In Toronto, Gary Trent delivered his fifth straight game of at least 30 points, finishing with 33 as the Toronto Raptors eased past the Miami Heat 110-106.

K.Inoue--JT