Antetokounmpo, Monroe lead Bucks past Clippers
MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greg Monroe scored 24 points each, and Milwaukee scored 41 points off 23 Los Angeles turnovers as the Bucks snapped a two-game skid with a 112-101 victory over the Clippers Friday night.
Khris Middleton celebrated a return to Milwaukee's starting lineup with 19 points and nine assists. Middleton missed the first 50 games of the season with a torn hamstring and played seven games off the bench. He hit a key jumper and 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as the Bucks turned back a Clippers rally that had pulled them within three points late in the third quarter.
The Clippers (36-25) lost for the fourth time in five games.
Chris Paul and Blake Griffin shared scoring honors with 21 points each.
Matthew Dellavedova added 15 points and eight assists off the Milwaukee bench as the Bucks had three players with at least eight assists. Milwaukee's 35 assists fell one shy of a season high.
The Clippers erased all but three points of a 19-point halftime deficit, with Paul's fourth 3-pointer of the quarter pulling them within 77-74 with 1:41 left in the third. Paul had 14 in the quarter.
But Milwaukee regrouped and closed the quarter with an 8-2 run. Antetokounmpo's three-point play with seven seconds left sent the Bucks to the fourth with an 85-76 lead.
The Bucks then scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, and after a runner by Jamal Crawford, Jason Terry's 3-pointer pushed the Bucks back to a 95-78 lead with 8:51 left.
The Clippers got within 99-84, but after a turnover by DeAndre Jordan, the Bucks inbounded quickly. Antetokounmpo beat the Los Angeles defenders up the court and fed Monroe for a dunk that made it 101-84 with 4:44 left.
Just 10 seconds later, Griffin and Monroe shared a double-technical foul for an exchange of shoves.
Turnovers crippled the Clippers in the first quarter, as Los Angeles committed nine leading to 18 Milwaukee points.
The Clippers held a 17-14 lead before five turnovers in the final four minutes helped Milwaukee close the period with a 20-2 run for a 34-19 edge. Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Monroe each had six in the run.
Terry capped a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer four minutes into the second period, pushing the Milwaukee lead to 45-25.
The lead reached 52-30 on a Thon Maker dunk with 6:02 remaining in the half. At that point the Clippers had committed 13 turnovers to just one by Milwaukee.
Paul started to show some frustration, picking up his third foul with 4:13 left in the half and a technical foul four seconds later. Referee Danny Crawford showed some restraint in not ejecting Paul with a second technical when the Clippers guard ran toward him gesturing. Teammates quickly pulled Paul away.
The Bucks took a 66-47 lead into the intermission, enjoying a 30-5 edge in points off turnovers.
Monroe led the Bucks with 16, followed closely by Middleton (14) and Antetokounmpo (12).
NOTES: Clippers G Jamal Crawford continues to climb the career list for 3-pointers made. He made one in Wednesday's loss at Houston to move ahead of Vince Carter with 2,014, sixth all-time. He made one 3-pointer Friday, leaving him three four behind Cleveland G Kyle Korver. ... Clippers C DeAndre Jordan continues to lead the league in shooting percentage at 69.8 percent, and his career mark of 67.3 percent is the NBA's best all-time mark. .... Bucks G Giannis Antetokounmpo had nine rebounds Wednesday to give him 504 for the season. He is just the second player in Bucks history to record 500 rebounds, 100 blocks and 100 steals in a season, joining C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. ... Bucks F Michael Beasley, whose left knee buckled in ugly fashion on Monday night in Cleveland, is making progress after an MRI showed only a hyperextension. "He's riding the bike, he's been in the pool," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "He's off crutches and he's moving a lot better." ... Heading into Friday's game, Bucks rookie G Malcolm Brogdon led all rookies in assists per game (4.2), steals per game (1.2) and 3-point field goal percentage (42.3) and is second in scoring at 9.8 points per game.