Giannis goes off in 1st half, scores 50 in Bucks’ win

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 50 points and 13 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks trounced New Orleans 135-110 on Sunday, handing the Pelicans their eighth straight loss.

Anteotkounmpo’s 50 points were five off the career high he set Jan. 4 in a 123-113 victory over the Washington Wizards. He shot 20 of 26 from the floor, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and went 7 of 12 on free-throw attempts.

Antetokounmpo collected 29 points and 10 rebounds in the first half alone. Jrue Holiday scored 17 and Brook Lopez added 15 for the Bucks, who shot 55.2%.

New Orleans was missing its top three scorers, so Jose Alvarado led the Pelicans with 18 points, while Trey Murphy III and Jonas Valanciunas had 16 each.

HORNETS 122, HEAT 117

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Terry Rozier scored 31 points, P.J. Washington had 27 and Charlotte stopped Miami’s three-game win streak.

LaMelo Ball scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as Charlotte improved to 7-16 at home. Gordon Hayward was a perfect 7 of 7 from the field for 20 points.

Rozier also had seven assists and six rebounds. He was 11 for 19 from the field, including a 5-for-11 performance from 3-point range.

Jimmy Butler scored 28 points for Miami, and Tyler Herro had 24.

Charlotte shot 54.2% from the field and outrebounded Miami 47-36.

GRIZZLIES 112, PACERS 100

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant had 27 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 28 points and Memphis overcame a lackluster first half to defeat Indiana.

Brandon Clarke had 13 points, hitting all five of his shots as Memphis snapped a five-game losing streak and ran its home record to 21-3. It was Morant’s fifth triple-double of the season and second in a row.

Benedict Mathurin, the sixth pick in the 2022 draft, led the Pacers with 27 points and eight rebounds. Aaron Nesmith had 16 points and Myles Turner added 15 points.

CAVALIERS 122, CLIPPERS 99

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cedi Osman tied his career-high with 29 points, Darius Garland had 16 points and 10 assists, and Cleveland led Los Angeles wire-to-wire for a win.

All-Star starter Donovan Mitchell had 11 points in his return for Cleveland after missing three games with a strained groin. Osman, a member of Turkey’s national team, drained all seven 3-point attempts on Turkish Heritage Night

Brandon Boston Jr. scored 24 points and Moses Brown had 13 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles, which had its five-game winning streak snapped. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard didn’t dress for the Clippers because of knee issues and Reggie Jackson didn’t play because of a sore right Achilles.

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