By Canadian Press

NBA roundup: Antetokounmpo breaks Abdul-Jabbar Bucks’ rebounding record in win over Rockets

Dec 17, 2023 | 10:59 PM

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points and 17 rebounds, breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Milwaukee rebounding record, and Damian Lillard scored 39 points in the Bucks’ 128-119 NBA victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

Antetokounmpo’s highest rebounding total of the season allowed him to pass Abdul-Jabbar after he had already moved past the Hall of Famer for the team scoring record. Antetokounmpo broke Abdul-Jabbar’s record with a rebound of Tari Eason’s missed shot with 7:46 left in the fourth quarter. It was his 14th rebound of the game and gave him 17,162 in 11 seasons with Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo also is the Bucks’ career leader in assists, joining Michael Jordan (Chicago), LeBron James (Cleveland) and Kevin Garnett (Minnesota) as the only players to lead a franchise in all three categories.

The Bucks are 19-7. They won their 13th straight home game and improved to 14-1 at home while snapping the Rockets’ five-game winning streak.

Fred VanVleet led the Rockets with 22 points. Dillon Brooks was ejected after picking up two technical fouls with 38.9 seconds left, and Rockets coach Ime Udoka also was whistled for two technicals after coming out on the court.

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Elsewhere in the NBA on Sunday:

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PELICANS 146 SPURS 110

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 29 points, Brandon Ingram added 26 and New Orleans set a franchise record with 22 3-pointers in rolling past Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio.

Wembanyama had 17 points and 13 rebounds in front of former San Antonio All-Star Tony Parker, his childhood idol in France and later mentor. Wembanyama’s eighth consecutive double-double surpassed the previous NBA record by a teenager of seven straight set by Dwight Howard with Orlando in 2005.

The Spurs unveiled a Hall of Fame designation on Parker’s retired jersey during a halftime ceremony. Parker was inducted in August with San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich and former Spurs assistant Becky Hammon, along with Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki.

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CELTICS 114 MAGIC 97

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 17 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and Boston beat Orlando to to improve to 14-0 at home.

Boston is off to its second-best start at home, behind the 1957-58 club that opened with 17 straight wins. The Celtics have won five straight overall to improve to 20-5, a half-game ahead of Minnesota for the NBA lead.

Jayson Tatum added 23 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday scored 14 points for Boston. 

Paolo Banchero had 36 points and 10 rebounds for Orlando.

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WARRIORS 118 TRAIL BLAZERS 114

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Klay Thompson scored 28 points on a night Stephen Curry’s NBA-record 3-pointer streak ended at 268 games and Golden State held off Portland for its second straight victory.

Curry was 0-for-8 from 3-point range, 2-for-12 overall and scored seven points. He began the streak Dec. 1, 2018, at Detroit.

Andrew Wiggins, who was recently taken out of the Golden State’s starting lineup, had 25 points and seven rebounds to help the Warriors win consecutive games for the first time since the end of a five-game winning streak in early November.

Jerami Grant led Portland with 30 points.

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SUNS 112 WIZARDS 108

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker shook off a subpar shooting night, scoring 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Phoenix Suns overcame a 16-point deficit to beat the Washington Wizards 112-108 on Sunday night.

Kevin Durant led the Suns with 28 points, including a dunk on a three-point play in the final minute. Jusuf Nurkic had 17 rebounds. Booker also had eight assists.

Phoenix outscored Washington 31-19 in the fourth to snap a two-game losing streak and stay above .500 at 14-12.

Daniel Gafford had 26 points and 17 rebounds for the Wizards, who dropped to 4-21 in a failed bid to win consecutive games for the first time this season. Washington beat Indiana on Friday night after losing 15 of its previous 16 games.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

The Associated Press