Luka Doncic of the Mavericks drives to the basket against Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen of the Bucks as Giannis Antetokounmpo looks on during Sunday’s game in Milwaukee. Aaron Gash/Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — Luka Doncic scored 32 points and matched a season high with 15 assists to help the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 118-112 on Sunday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 28 points and 10 assists. Milwaukee was essentially at full strength Sunday after resting all of its usual starters in a 153-119 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.
Doncic flirted with a triple-double before finishing with eight rebounds. In six career games against the Bucks, Doncic has averaged 26.8 points, 11.3 assists and 9.2 rebounds with three triple-doubles.
Dallas’ Dwight Powell added 22 points and 13 rebounds – one off his career high.
After a basket by Bobby Portis gave the Bucks a one-point lead early in the fourth, Doncic led the Mavericks back by scoring or assisting on each of Dallas’ first 11 points in the final quarter.
Milwaukee dropped into a tie with Philadelphia for third place in the Eastern Conference – a half-game behind Boston.
76ERS 112, CAVALIERS 108: Joel Embiid had 44 points and 17 rebounds, James Harden recorded his second triple-double with Philadelphia and the 76ers locked up a playoff spot with a win at Cleveland.
Embiid was questionable going into the game because of a sore ankle. But not only did the 7-footer play, he dominated down the stretch, scoring 12 points in a key sequence of the fourth quarter.
Harden had an off-shooting night (4 of 13), but finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Darius Garland scored 23 and Caris LeVert and Lamar Stevens had 18 apiece for the Cavs, who played without injured 7-footers Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
HEAT 114, RAPTORS 109: Kyle Lowry had 16 points and 10 assists against his former team, Max Strus scored all of his 23 points in the second half, and Miami won at Toronto.
Victor Oladipo scored 21 points, Tyler Herro had 18 and Bam Adebayo 16 as the Heat won their fourth straight and remained two games ahead of Boston atop the Eastern Conference standings. Each team has three games remaining.
Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam each scored 29 points, and Scottie Barnes and Gary Trent Jr. both had 19 as Toronto lost for the first time in six games.
The Raptors have the same record as fifth-place Chicago, but the Bulls hold the tiebreaker. Toronto is 2 1/2 games ahead of seventh-place Cleveland in the battle to avoid the play-in round.
NUGGETS 129, LAKERS 118: Nikola Jokic had 38 points, 18 rebounds and six assists, and Denver moved into fifth place in the Western Conference with a victory at slumping Los Angeles.
Will Barton scored 25 points and Aaron Gordon added 24 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who capitalized on LeBron James’ absence with a fourth-quarter surge to grab their fourth win in five games. Denver moved a half-game ahead of Utah for fifth place, getting further insurance against being forced into the play-in tournament.
Anthony Davis had 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the 11th-place Lakers, whose play-in hopes waned further with their sixth consecutive loss. Los Angeles has lost 28 of 38 since Jan. 7.
SPURS 113, TRAIL BLAZERS 92: Keldon Johnson scored 28 points and San Antonio won at home, strengthening its bid for a play-in berth.
Coupled with the Lakers’ loss to Denver, San Antonio’s magic number for clinching 10th place in the Western Conference is two games. The Spurs (33-45) also hold the tiebreaker over the Lakers (31-47) with a better conference record.
PISTONS 121, PACERS 117: Saddiq Bey scored 31 points and Fred Jackson had 19 to lead sharpshooting Detroit to a win at Indiana.
Bey hit 11 of 18 shots, including 7 of 9 on 3-pointers. The Pistons, who have won three games in a row, sank 21 of 41 3-pointers and set a team record for 3s in a half with 13 in the opening two quarters.
Oshae Brissett scored 20 points and had nine rebounds to lead the Pacers, who have lost seven straight.
KNICKS 118, MAGIC 88: RJ Barrett scored 27 points, Obi Toppin matched his career high with 20 and visiting New York routed Orlando.
Toppin and Alec Burks scored 12 points each in a 37-point third quarter for the Knicks, who made 12 of their first 13 shots in the second half.
THUNDER 117, SUNS 96: Backup center Olivier Sarr scored a career-high 24 points and Aleksej Pokuveski recorded his first career triple-double to lead Oklahoma City to a win at home.
Pokuveski, a 7-footer, had 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds while playing point guard for the bulk of the game.
The Thunder put seven players in double figures and took advantage of the Suns’ worst 3-point shooting effort of the season. Playing without scoring leader Devin Booker, Phoenix hit just 7 of 38 (18.4%) beyond the arc.
TIMBERWOLVES 139, ROCKETS 132: Anthony Edwards scored 33 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 and Minnesota built a huge lead and held on for a win at Houston.
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