Antetokounmpo, Bucks beat Clippers 119-106 for 10th straight win

LOS ANGELES(AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 35 points and the MilwaukeeBucks beat the Los Angeles Clippers 119-106 on Friday night fortheir first 10-game winning streak since 2019-20.

Brook Lopezhad 22 points and 15 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday added 19 points forthe Bucks, who have won 12 of 13. They completed a back-to-backsweep in LA, having beaten the Lakers a night earlier.

Paul Georgeled the six Clippers in double figures with 19 points, 11 reboundsand six assists. They were without Kawhi Leonard, who sat out dueto injury management.

Antetokounmpohad 38 points and 10 rebounds against the Lakers. He picked upwhere he left off, scoring the Bucks’ first eight points as theyraced to a 14-2 lead to open the game.

The GreekFreak came in averaging 37.6 points, 14 rebounds and 5.4 assistswhile shooting 61% from the floor during the Bucks’ winning streak.He was the leading vote-getter in the Eastern Conference for theAll-Star Game on Feb. 19. He’ll be making his seventh straightstart and was voted a captain for the third time.

The Clippersrallied before losing 106-105 at Milwaukee last week. They did itagain in the third when neither team led by more than five for muchof the period. Antetokounmpo eventually took over, stretchingMilwaukee’s lead to 76-68 with three straight baskets and heassisted on a basket by MarJon Beauchamp.

The Bucksdominated the fourth, extending their lead from five points todouble-digits.

Antetokounmposcored seven of the Bucks’ first 10 points in the second. When hewent to the bench, Lopez scored 14 points to send the Bucks intohalftime leading 54-51.

TIP-INS

Bucks: JaeCrowder, newly acquired from Phoenix, will join the team inMilwaukee this weekend. ... Lopez, who is 34, became the oldestplayer in the NBA to make 100 3-pointers and have 100 blocked shotsin a season. ... The Bucks earned their first season sweep of theClippers since 2019-20 and just their third since 2000-01. ...Khris Middleton (injury management) sat out after scoring 22 pointsagainst the Lakers. ... Bobby Portis (right knee MCL sprain) missedhis ninth straight game.

Clippers:George hit a 3-pointer in the third that gave him 16,000 careerpoints. ... Leonard missed his 20th game of the season whileresting his right knee. The team fell to 9-11 when he’s out becauseof his knee.

UPNEXT

Bucks: HostBoston on Tuesday.

Clippers:Host Golden State on Tuesday.