MILWAUKEE — Damian Lillard had 31 points and 16 assists and Bobby Portis had 31 points and 10 rebounds to lead Milwaukee past the Phoenix Suns 140-129, as the Bucks hit 24 3-pointers to win without star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo, averaging 30.8 points and 11.2 rebounds, was out with left hamstring soreness. He missed just his fourth game of the season and first since March 4, when he was out with Achilles tendinitis.
“It´s not an injury, we were just concerned a little bit,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said according to AP.
“Plus, when you look at the schedule, you have one, two, three, four, five days off. We planted it in him and he had to do it. We´re happy that he decided to do it.”
Phoenix trailed 109-94 after three quarters, but closed within 122-115 on a lay-in by Bradley Beal with 6:17 left. Lillard´s 3-pointer from the top left put Milwaukee up 134-120 with 3:18 remaining.
“I just wanted to come out and be in attack mode,” said Lillard, who became the first Bucks player in history to have a 30-point, 15-assist game. “I didn´t really think to myself I´m going to have to score a bunch of points. I just knew I had to be a problem for the defense.”
Khris Middleton added 22 points for Milwaukee in his first game back after missing 16 games with a sprained left ankle. The Bucks finished 24 of 41 from 3-point range, with Portis and Malik Beasley hitting five apiece.
“I thought it was huge, especially with Giannis being out,” Lillard said of Middleton´s return. “Any time you´re down your best player and then you add another weapon to a team that´s already down, it´s a pick-me-up just because we´re excited to have him back.”
Beal had 28 points, Grayson Allen had 25 points and Devin Booker scored 23 for Phoenix.
Milwaukee´s 18 first-half 3-pointers matched the NBA record for 3-pointers in the opening half held by the Suns and Utah Jazz.
“They changed their team, obviously, with Giannis not being in there, and Dame is an elite attacker that requires you to really extend your defense on him,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “The risk in that is exposing the 3-point line.”
Portis came off the bench for 25 first-half points, hitting 10 of 13 shots, including 5 of 5 from beyond the arc, in just under 13 minutes.
Elsewhere, Stephen Curry belatedly celebrated his birthday by returning to the Golden State lineup and leading the Warriors to a much-needed victory.
Curry, who turned 36 Thursday, scored 31 points after missing the last three games with a sprained right ankle as the Warriors beat the Los Angeles Lakers 128-121 in a pivotal Western Conference matchup.
“Steph is Steph. He´s just amazing,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He got off to a slow start, but he never worries and we never worry. What he does is open the floor for everyone else.”
The Warriors inched ahead of the Lakers by a percentage point into ninth place in the West after winning a game that dragged to the finish because of a pair of replay reviews – one that overturned an apparent 3-pointer by LeBron James – then a malfunctioning clock.
James had 40 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. D´Angelo Russell added 23 points and 13 assists for the Lakers, who have dropped their last two.
The Warriors would be hosting the Lakers in the play-in tournament, with the loser eliminated. Both teams are 3 1/2 games behind Phoenix for sixth place and escaping the play-in games, but time is running out.
