Bucks beat Magic to return to NBA Cup semifinals

Milwaukee — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 37 points, Damian Lillard had nine of his 28 in the final minute and the Milwaukee Bucks returned to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas by beating the Orlando Magic 114-109 on Tuesday night.

Milwaukee reached the semifinals of the regular-season tournament in Las Vegas last December and will be the only returning second-year team. They play on Saturday against the winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal between the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks.

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts after a dunk during the second half of an NBA Cup quarterfinal basketball game against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Milwaukee.

Jalen Suggs led an undermanned Orlando team with 32 points, but missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 12 seconds left. Lillard was fouled and sank two free throws with 9.1 seconds left, and Suggs missed a potential third-point tie.

Antetokounmpo then made both free throws with five seconds left and the Bucks held on.

The Magic were missing forwards Paolo Banchero (torn right oblique muscle), Jonathan Isaac (strained right hamstring) and Franz Wagner, who tore his right oblique muscle Friday against Philadelphia; along with guard Gary Harris (left hamstring strain).

Orlando’s bench scored 28 points in the first half, including 13 from Moritz Wagner and 10 from Anthony Black. But Wagner failed to score in the second half.

Bobby Portis helped the Bucks erase an early 11-point deficit by hitting his first seven shots and scoring 16 points in the first half. He finished the game with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Antetokounmpo extended his streak to 22 consecutive games with 20 or more points on 50% shooting, the longest streak to open a season in league history and the third-longest at any point in a season (Shaquille O’Neal and Zion Williamson, both 25). ). games). Antetokounmpo was 15 of 24 from the field.

Leonard returns to training

The Clippers were in the middle of a practice when suddenly and even unexpectedly Kawhi Leonard showed up at their practice session on Tuesday.

It was Leonard’s first practice with the Clippers since last season as he recovers from a right knee injury. Even though it was a limited team practice for Leonard, it was a lively practice, said coach Tyronn Lue.

“He wrote an offensive script, did a defensive job and just had no contact,” Lue said. “But he did pretty much everything else.”

Lue said Leonard “looked good” but didn’t give a time frame for his best player’s return.

Jimmy V Classic

In the first game of the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, Chaz Lanier scored 22 points and No. 1 Tennessee defeated Miami 75-62.

Arkansas slipped past No. 14 Michigan 89-87 in the nightcap.

Igor Milicic Jr. added 16 and nine rebounds for the Volunteers, who were ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 this week for the first time since February 2019. Zakai Zeigler added 13 points and nine assists for Tennessee, which pulled away late in the season in the first half and survived a comeback attempt by Miami 9-0 for the first time since 2000-01.

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Bucks beat Magic to return to NBA Cup semifinals

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