MILWAUKEE (AP) — Even the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton could not cool down the Milwaukee Bucks.
Damian Lillard scored 41 points as the Bucks came from behind to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 113-106 on Monday night for their sixth straight victory. Antetokounmpo watched from the bench with left Achilles tendonitis as the two-time MVP missed his third game of the season.
“I think it just shows who we are becoming,” Lillard said.
The Bucks are undefeated since the All-Star break as they prepare to begin a four-game trip to California that begins Wednesday at Golden State and includes a rematch with the Clippers on Sunday. It’s an impressive turnaround for a team that entered the break 3-7 in new coach Doc Rivers’ first 10 games.
The Bucks won without Antetokounmpo on Monday, just as they won without three-time All-Star Khris Middleton, who missed an 11th straight game with a sprained left ankle.
“Nobody talked about who wasn’t playing before the game,” Lillard said. “It was literally like we were in the locker room, Doc didn’t come in and say, ‘All right, Giannis is out.’ Khris is out. It was like we went in there, we talked about the scouting report and what we needed to do to win the game, and that was it. I think it just shows what’s expected, the level we are starting to get and who we are becoming as a team.
James Harden and Paul George scored 29 points each for the Clippers, who ran out of gas down the stretch while playing a night after an 89-88 win at Minnesota. Kawhi Leonard added 16 points.
The Bucks trailed by 13 in the final minute of the third period, but won, outscoring the Clippers 23-10 over the final five minutes.
“When they went to that zone, I think we were a little happy with the jump shot rather than continuing to attack the basket and getting into the paint,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “I think we were in the bonus pretty early in the fourth quarter. They did a good job going into the zone, but we didn’t handle it well.
Bobby Portis scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 16 rebounds. He became the first NBA player this season to total at least 25 points and 15 rebounds coming off the bench.
“Guys had to step up in their roles,” Portis said. “I just feel like it was one of those moments for me to step up and be a little more aggressive than before.”
Patrick Beverley added 12 points and ignited the winning rally. His 3-pointer tied the game at 96 with 4:33 remaining.
On the Clippers’ ensuing possession, Beverley stole the ball to set up Lillard’s layup with 4:10 left, which gave the Bucks their first lead since the opening period.
After Brook Lopez blocked Leonard’s layup attempt, AJ Green scored a deep 3-pointer to make the score 101-96. Portis scored the final four points of the 15-0 spurt that gave the Bucks the lead for good.
The Clippers cut the lead to five with 1:31 to play, but Portis scored five straight points and the Bucks didn’t look back.
