By ASSOCIATED PRESS
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kyle Kuzma scored a season-high 31 points and Bobby Portis added 27 points and 10 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks rallied in the second half to defeat the Boston Celtics, 116-101, on Thursday night, Dec. 11, without injured star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Portis hit a pair of 3-pointers from the left corner as Milwaukee opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run to go in front 95-82. Another 3 by Portis put the Bucks up 106-89 with 6:49 remaining.
Portis hit 11 of 13 shots, including 5 of 6 beyond the arc, in 26 minutes. Kevin Porter Jr. had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists.
Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and Jordan Walsh added 20 for the Celtics, whose five-game winning streak ended.
Milwaukee improved to 2-7 this season without Antetokounmpo, who missed his third consecutive game with a strained right calf. Antetokounmpo, who’s averaging 28.9 points and 10.1 rebounds, is expected to miss two to four weeks.
Boston led 67-60 at the half. Kuzma scored nine points to fuel an 11-0 spurt that brought the Bucks even at 71-all midway through the third quarter.
Milwaukee, which trailed by 10 in the first quarter, pulled within 30-29, but the Celtics responded with a 23-9 run, going in front 52-38 on Payton Pritchard’s 3-pointer with just under seven minutes left in the half.
Pritchard and Walsh each hit three 3-pointers in the first half. However, the Celtics went cold from 3-point range, finishing 14 of 49 (28.6%).
Meanwhile in Houston, Amen Thompson’s three-point play with 17.2 seconds left helped the Rockets to a 115-113 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Thompson tipped in Alperen Sengun’s miss to break a 110-110 tie, was fouled by Kris Dunn and hit the and-1 free throw. The putback came off Houston’s third offensive rebound of the possession and 21st of the night.
Thompson made 8 of 12 from the field and finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
The Rockets (16-6) outrebounded the Clippers 51-28 and avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time since October 24.
Los Angeles had two possessions with a chance to tie the game, but Kawhi Leonard was called for an offensive foul, and Nicolas Batum committed a violation on an inbounds pass.
Sengun led the Rockets with 22 points and 15 rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Jabari Smith Jr added 18 points.
Kevin Durant scored 13 of his 16 points in the third quarter. He started the game 1 of 7 from the field but knocked down his next four shots.
Ivica Zubac matched a season-high with 33 points for the Clippers. He shot 13 of 14 and added seven rebounds.
Leonard scored 24 points in a season-high 41 minutes, and James Harden chipped in 22 points against the team he starred with for over eight seasons.
The loss is the Clippers (6-19) third in a row and eighth in nine games.
