Giannis Antetokounmpo has set a Milwaukee Bucks franchise record with 64 points in a single game to lead his team to a 140-126 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers.
Antetokounmpo broke the team record of 57 set by Michael Redd in 2006 in a 113-111 loss to the Utah Jazz. Antetokounmpo’s previous career high was 55 in a 123-113 victory over Washington in January 2023. He had 54 at Indiana on November 9.
The Nigerian-Greek star was 20 of 28 from the field, made 24 of 32 free throws and had 14 rebounds.
Antetokounmpo was tackled by Aaron Nesmith on a play underneath with 10:10 remaining, setting off a brief heated exchange involving several players.
Nesmith was called for a flagrant-1, and Nesmith and the Bucks’ Bobby Portis were assessed technical fouls. Portis was later called for a second technical and ejected with 9:13 remaining, finishing with 19 points.
Damian Lillard added 21 points for the Bucks.
Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner had 22 points apiece for the Pacers, who beat the Bucks 128-119 in the semi-finals of the In-Season Tournament.
Earlier, Joel Embiid scored 30 of his 41 points in the first half as Philadelphia beat Detroit 129-111 to inflict more misery on the Pistons who encountered their 21st straight loss.
Detroit matched the longest streak in franchise history without a win, set at the end of the 1979-80 season and start of 1980-81. It is the sixth-longest single-season losing streak in the NBA.
Only the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers (both lost 26 straight), along with the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies, the 1997-98 Denver Nuggets and the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats (all lost 23 in a row) have lost more games in a row in a season.
Philadelphia hold the overall mark of 28, set at the end of 2014-15 and start of 2015-16.
Detroit dropped to 2-22, with the teams set to meet again Friday night in Philadelphia. Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 33 points, and Cade Cunningham had 21.
Former Piston Tobias Harris added 21 points for Philadelphia and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 17. The 76ers outrebounded Detroit 52-35.
Brandon Ingram scored a season-high 40 points to lead the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans to a 141-122 rout of the Washington Wizards.
Trey Murphy III added six 3-pointers and 27 points as the Pelicans enjoyed their best offensive showing of the season.
CJ McCollum had 22 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 18 rebounds. Zion Williamson sat out because of a sprained ankle.
Kyle Kuzma scored 27 points for Washington. The Wizards lost for the 20th time in 23 games, the fastest the team has reached that loss total since the 2012-13 season.
In other matches, the Miami Heat beat Charlotte Hornets 115-104 while the Toronto Raptors defeated the Atlanta Hawks 135-128.
The San Antonio Spurs were beaten at home 122-119 by the Los Angeles Lakers with rookie Victor Wembanyama’s 30-point effort overshadowed by Anthony Davis’s game-high 37 points.
The Brooklyn Nets scored an away win over the Phoenix Suns winning 116-112, while the Houston Rockets beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-104.
The Utah Jazz beat the New York Knicks 117-113, with Collin Sexton scoring a season-high 26 points.
Source: AAP
