Bucks pull away from Nets
NEW YORK -- Giannis Antetokounmpo totaled 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Milwaukee Bucks took control in the third quarter and pulled away for a 111-93 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
Antetokounmpo likely would have had his seventh career triple-double but he sat in the fourth quarter when the game continued going in Milwaukee's way.
Jabari Parker added 22 for Milwaukee, which beat the Nets for the 13th time in 17 meetings and won for the fourth time in five games since a three-point loss to the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 19.
Brook Lopez led the Nets with 15 points but misfired on eight of 12 shots. Sean Kilpatrick followed up his career-high 38-point night against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday by adding 14 but missed five of his last six shots.
The Nets (5-13) lost for the eighth time in nine games. Seven of those defeats have been double-digits as Brooklyn shot 38.2 percent and allowed 26 points off 18 turnovers.
The game was played in front of former president Bill Clinton, who sat courtside and was introduced to the crowd in the first quarter. He returned to his seat about midway through the third quarter when Milwaukee began surging ahead.
A basket by Kilpatrick gave the Nets a 60-59 lead with 8:44 left. The Bucks went on a 18-4 run over the next three-plus minutes and took a 77-64 lead on a 3-pointer by rookie Malcolm Brogdon.
Brooklyn cut the lead to 82-75 with 2:29 left on a basket by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, but a 3-pointer by Snell and two hoops by Antetokounmpo helped extend the margin to 90-78 entering the fourth.
The lead neared 20 points and the Bucks finished it by getting 3-pointers from Mirza Teletovic and Jason Terry midway through the fourth.
NOTES: Multiple reports said free agent F Donatas Motiejunas visited the Nets for a physical Thursday and the team will likely sign the restricted free agent to an offer sheet Friday. ... Motiejunas received a qualifying offer for about $4.4 million in June from Houston but the offer expired in October, and last month the Rockets reportedly offered him a two-year deal with about $7 million guaranteed in the first year. ... Milwaukee recalled G Rashad Vaughn from a second stint in the D-League with the Westchester Knicks, where he averaged 11.5 points in 15.9 minutes in two games. ... Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd said there are no plans to send rookie F Thon Maker to the D-League.