NBA ROUNDUP: Jrue Holiday scores 51-point career high in Bucks win, Lakers get revenge on Bulls

Jrue Holiday scored a career-high 51 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points in a triple-double and the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks beat the Indiana Pacers 149-136 on Wednesday night.

‘Obviously, I’m happy about it,’ Holiday said. ‘It took me 14 years to get 50 points. It came in a game that we needed to win, so I couldn’t be happier.’

Antetokounmpo added 17 rebounds and 12 assists to help the Bucks improve to 55-21. The two-time NBA MVP was an assist shy of a triple-double at halftime with 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He returned after sitting out Monday night in a victory at Detroit because of a sore knee.

‘It’s hard to come up with the superlatives to describe them,’ Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said of his top scorers. 

‘They were phenomenal. Giannis set the tone with his aggressive attacking. Then Jrue for the whole game to have 51, that’s hard to do in an NBA game.’

Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) ties up Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (21)

Holiday had 18 points in the third quarter, when the Bucks scored a season-high 46 points to build a 12-point lead. 

He was 20 of 30 from the field with three 3-pointers and hit 8 of 10 free throws. His previous best was 40 points in an overtime victory over visiting Boston on Feb. 14.

‘Together with Giannis with 38, those two guys were special, they put us on their backs,’ Budenholzer said.

The 6-foot-5 Holiday scored 30 points in the paint.

‘I felt like Giannis,’ Holiday said with a smile. ‘No dunks though.’

Brook Lopez added 21 points for the Bucks.

Rookie Bennedict Mathurin led Indiana – playing without its top three scorers – with 29 points. Aaron Nesmith had 22 and Jordan Nwora 18.

Jalen Smith fouled out early in the fourth with 17. Rookie Andrew Nembhard had 15 points and 15 rebounds.

‘It starts with Giannis, one of the best players in the world,’ said Nwora, acquired from the Bucks on Feb. 9. 

‘It’s always tough playing a guy like him who is so different. You have to really lock into him. Then other guys get going, Jrue comes in and gets 51. It’s tough to beat them on a night like that.’

Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (21) shoots over Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell (9)

LAKERS 121, BULLS 110

LeBron James scored 25 points in his return to the starting lineup and Los Angeles beat Chicago.

James also had seven rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes in his second game back after he was sidelined for a month because of a torn tendon in his right foot. The four-time MVP scored 19 points Sunday in as 118-108 loss to Chicago in just his second appearance as a reserve in his 20-year NBA career.

Fighting for playoff positioning in the Western Conference, Los Angeles (38-38) kicked off a five-game trip with its fourth win in five games overall. Anthony Davis had 38 points and 10 rebounds in his hometown, and D´Angelo Russell scored 17 points.

Nikola Vucevic had 29 points and 12 rebounds for Chicago in its second straight loss.

Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James drives to the basket as Chicago Bulls’ Alex Caruso defends

KNICKS 101, HEAT 92

Immanuel Quickley scored 24 points, Quentin Grimes had 23 and New York moved closer to a postseason berth with a victory night that sent Miami closer to the play-in tournament.

The Knicks overcame the loss of Julius Randle to a sprained left ankle to win their second straight and remained firmly in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They are 2 1/2 games ahead of Brooklyn four games ahead of the seventh-place Heat.

Gabe Vincent scored 21 points for Miami.

Knicks RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson react in the game against the Miami Heat, Wednesday

76ERS 116, MAVERICKS 108

Joel Embiid had 25 points and nine rebounds, James Harden added 15 points and 12 assists and Philadelphia beat Dallas.

Embiid flashed his MVP credentials when he powered the Sixers back in the fourth against Luka Doncic and the Mavs. Embiid hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 103 and followed with a 16-footer the next time down for what ended up the winning basket.

Doncic had 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Kyrie Irving scored 23 points for the Mavericks.

Tyrese Maxey added 22 points to help the 76ers snap a three-game losing streak. They returned from a 1-3 trip.

Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, left, goes up for a shot against Dallas Mavericks’ Maxi Kleber

CLIPPERS 141, GRIZZLIES 132

Russell Westbrook had a season-high 36 points, Robert Covington also had a season best with 27 points and Los Angeles beat Memphis to open a two-game set.

The teams – both short-handed Wednesday – will meet again Friday night in Memphis. Westbrook made five 3-pointers without a miss and had 10 assists. Covington was 9 of 10 from the field, making all seven of his 3-point attempts.

Bones Hyland added 20 points for Los Angles, including 12 in the fourth quarter as the Clippers pulled away in the final seven minutes.

Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 36 points and nine assists. Dillon Brooks added 30 points as all five Memphis starters finished in double figures. The Grizzlies had won seven in a row and 12 straight at home.

LA Clippers guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives against Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant

JAZZ 128, SPURS 117

Jalen Horton-Tucker scored a career-high 41 points and Utah beat the Spurs in what could have been coach Gregg Popovich´s final game in San Antonio.

Utah snapped a four-game skid to keep its fading playoff hopes alive. But San Antonio (19-57) lost its fifth straight in its worst season since 1997, the year it drafted Tim Duncan with the No. 1 overall pick.

Popovich has given no indication that he is retiring or even that he will return for his 28th season. The annual speculation has intensified, though, especially since the 74-year-old coach allowed his expected induction this summer into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame after years of refusing to even be nominated. The Spurs have two home games remaining, but those will be played 73 miles away in Austin´s new Moody Center.

Rookie Malaki Branham led San Antonio with 21 points. 

Jazz Talen Horton-Tucker (0) shoots against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half

NETS 123, ROCKETS 114

Cam Johnson had 31 points, Mikal Bridges scored 12 of his 27 in the fourth quarter and Brooklyn rallied to beat Houston.

Johnson and Bridges came over together from Phoenix in the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Suns. Durant finally made his home debut for Phoenix on Wednesday night.

Nic Claxton added 18 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn.

Kevin Porter Jr. had 31 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Houston. The Rockets have lost seven in a row.

Nets’ Mikal Bridges (1) shoots over Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun during the second half

THUNDER 107, PISTONS 106

Rookie Jalen Williams´ putback with less than a second remaining lifted Oklahoma City past Detroit.

The pressure was on for the Thunder, who entered the night two games under .500 and hanging on to the final Western Conference play-in spot. Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – the league´s No. 4 scorer with 31.3 points per game – was out with a sprained ankle for the second straight game.

Williams had 27 points, eight rebounds six assists – and the tip-in on Josh Giddey´s miss in the closing seconds. Lu Dort scored 20 points,

Jaden Ivey had 24 for Detroit. The Pistons have the NBA´s worst record and have lost seven straight and 18 of 19.

Pistons Isaiah Livers and thunder forward Jalen Williams,dive for a loose ball in the first half

KINGS 120, TRAIL BLAZERS 80 

De’Aaron Fox scored 18 points and the Sacramento Kings clinched their first playoff berth since 2006 with a 120-80 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

Kevin Huerter added 17 points in the win, which also earned the Kings home-court advantage to open the postseason. The team’s 16-year playoff drought was the longest in NBA history and the longest active postseason dry spell among teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball.

Kings rookie Keegan Murray made his 188th 3-pointer of the season with 6:44 to go in the third quarter to set the NBA record, passing Donovan Mitchell’s mark of 187 set in 2017-18. Murray, who flashed an understated grin after the shot fell, finished with 13 points.

Kings Domantas Sabonis, drives to the basket on Portland Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little,

SUNS 107, Timberwolves 100 

Devin Booker scored 29 points, Kevin Durant had 16 points and eight rebounds in his home debut and the Phoenix Suns won their third straight game, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-100 on Wednesday night.

The Suns are 4-0 with Durant in the lineup. The Timberwolves had a four-game winning streak snapped.

The teams are in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race, fighting to stay in the top six so they don’t fall to the play-in tournament. Every game is crucial at this point — just three wins separated the Nos. 4-11 spots coming into Wednesday.

Phoenix Suns Devin Booker (1) drives past Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels