Bucks end dry spell, rout Jazz

MANILA, Philippines -- Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo combined for 65 points to finally break a six-game losing streak of the Milwaukee Bucks with a 123-100 victory over the Utah Jazz Friday morning (Manila time) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Lillard had 34 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals on a 12-of-22 shooting clip, including four 3-pointers. Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, finished with 31 markers, 16 boards, two dimes, a steal and a block.

The Bucks were trailing by four, 57-61, at the half and were facing a one-point deficit, 70-71, with about six minutes left in the third frame.

Milwaukee, however, unleashed a 17-1 run capped by a dunk by Bobby Portis to take a commanding 87-72 lead.

This tipped the momentum fully on the home team, as the lead grew to 28 points, 123-95, with 1:10 left after a MarJon Beauchamp jumper.

Portis added 19 points and six rebounds for the Bucks, while AJ Green chipped in 12.

Jordan Clarkson spearheaded the Jazz with 18 points, four rebounds and two assists, while Colin Sexton backstopped with 14.

Johnny Juzang, John Collins and Keyonte George had 12, 11 and 10, respectively, for Utah.

Milwaukee rose to 2-6 in the season, while the Jazz dropped to 1-7, dead-last in the Western Conference.

In San Antonio, the Spurs banked on a balanced scoring outing from the team to outlast the Portland Trail Blazers, 118-105.

Keldon Johnson and Malaki Branham had 17 points apiece, with the former hauling down 11 boards, followed by Julian Champagnie, Zach Collins and rookie Stephon Castle with 14 apiece.

Victor Wembanyama finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals, three blocks and two assists. Harrison Barnes and Blake Wesley had 11 and 10 in that order.

Deandre Ayton and Jerami Grant paced Portland with 21 points each, while Anfernee Simons had 19 markers and seven dimes.

The Blazers were trailing by one, 56-55, at the end of the first two quarters before the Spurs broke the game wide open in the final two quarters.

San Antonio arrested a two-game slide and rose to 4-5 in the season, while Portland dropped to 3-6.

The Minnesota Timberwolves also erupted in the fourth quarter to blast the Chicago Bulls, 135-119, at the United Center in Illinois.

Minnesota was trailing by five, 90-95, heading into the final canto. The deficit was maintained after a 3-pointer by Talen Horton-Tucker, 106-101, with 9:06 to go.

The Wolves, then, uncorked a 17-6 run capped by a layup by Anthony Edwards to grab a 128-112 lead.

A putback by Josh Giddey halted the blitz, but Minnesota’s advantage was too big to overcome.

Edwards had 33 points, eight rebounds, six assists for Minnesota, while Julius Randle had 22 markers, 10 boards and three dimes.

Nikola Vucevic and Coby White had 25 and 24 markers, respectively.

Minnesota rose to 5-3 in the season, while Chicago dropped to 3-6.