LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 20 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks rode a fast start to beat the Orlando Magic 111-96 on Thursday and tie the Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.
The Bucks boasted the NBA’s best regular-season record at 56-17, but went 3-5 in the eight seeding games at Disney’s Wide World of Sports and opened the playoffs by losing 122-110 to Orlando.
Milwaukee bounced back Thursday, building a 23-point lead in the first half, though Orlando got the margin down to nine in the fourth quarter.
Brook Lopez scored 20 points and Pat Connaughton had 15 on 5-of-8 3-point shooting for Milwaukee. Eric Bledsoe had 13 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 11.
Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic followed up his 35-point effort in the opener by scoring 32 points. Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross each had 12, Markelle Fultz had 11 and D.J. Augustin added 10.
ROCKETS 111, THUNDER 98: James Harden had 21 points and nine assists and Houston made 19 of an NBA-record 56 3-point attempts to beat Oklahoma City for a 2-0 lead in the first-round Western Conference series.
Former Thunder star Russell Westbrook was out for the Rockets again with a right quad strain, but plenty of other Houston players picked up the slack. Danuel House Jr. scored 19 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points for the Thunder, and Danilo Gallinari added 17.
Oklahoma City dominated the second quarter and led 59-53 at halftime. The Thunder shot 50% in the half. Houston missed its last 15 3-pointers in the second quarter, and Harden scored just eight points on 2-for-10 shooting in the half.
The Rockets went on a 13-0 run early in the second half to regain the lead. Gilgeous-Alexander, who had been cold in the bubble, made three straight 3-pointers to highlight an 11-0 run that put the Thunder ahead again. The Thunder held on and led 78-77 at the end of the third quarter.
Oklahoma City led 80-77 before the Rockets broke away with a 17-0 run, with just two of the points coming from Harden, the league scoring champion.
HEAT 109, PACERS 100: Duncan Robinson hit his first six shots, all from 3-point range, and finished with 24 points as Miami took a 2-0 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Robinson opened the game by making the Heat’s first three buckets, all 3s. He didn’t miss until midway through the third quarter, and Robinson tied the Heat record for 3s made in a playoff game with seven. He finished 7-of-8 shooting, all beyond the arc.
Goran Dragić scored 20 points for Miami, Jimmy Butler had 18 points and six assists, rookie Tyler Herro added 15 points off the bench, and Jae Crowder scored 10.
Victor Oladipo, who had been questionable with an injured left eye, led Indiana with 22 points. Myles Turner and Malcolm Brogdon each had 17 points. T.J. Warren added 14 and Aaron Holiday had 12.
The fifth-seeded Heat went 3-1 against the Pacers during the regular season. Now Miami has won the first two of the first opening-round series between these franchises. The Heat are looking to improve to 4-1 against Indiana in the playoffs.
WEDNESDAY’S LATE GAME
MAVERICKS 127, CLIPPERS 114: Luka Doncic scored 28 points and Dallas put together the pivotal run when he was out to beat the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night and even the Western Conference playoff series at a game apiece.
Two nights after scoring 42 points in the highest-scoring debut in postseason history, Doncic played just nine minutes in the second half. He finished with eight rebounds and seven assists.
Kristaps Porzingis added 23 points for the Mavericks. They beat the Clippers for the first time in five meetings this season and earned their first playoff victory since 2016.
Kawhi Leonard had 35 points and 10 rebounds, but Paul George had a mostly miserable performance for the second-seeded Clippers. They played without starting guard Patrick Beverley because of a calf injury.
Doncic picked up his fourth foul less than a minute into the third quarter, shaking his finger toward the Dallas bench that he didn’t want to come out.
When he did come out toward the end of the period, Dallas put together a strong stretch of basketball. A finishing 14-4 spurt made it 98-85 entering the fourth, the Mavs pushed the lead to 18 in the final 12 minutes.
NOTES
DRAFT LOTTERY: The Minnesota Timberwolves landed the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft, cashing in their 14% odds of netting the top pick.
The Timberwolves edged out the Warriors, who will pick second, and will be followed by the Hornets, Bulls and Cavaliers.
The draft is currently scheduled for October, but a report from ESPN said there is a possibility free agency and the draft could be pushed back depending on when the league sets a timetable for the start of next season.
Because Memphis didn’t move into the top four picks, its No. 14 pick will go to the Celtics to complete a 2015 trade in which the Grizzlies acquired Jeff Green.
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