Lillard's 45 points spark Bucks to win

Damian Lillard scored a season-high 45 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 31 to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over NBA doormat Detroit 141-135 on Saturday.

Lillard, who arrived from Portland in a pre-season trade, had 11 assists and made 12-of-22 shots from the floor, 5-of-11 from 3-point range, and hit all 16 of his free throw attempts.Lillard became the first player in Bucks history with 40 or more points, 10 or more assists and five 3-pointers in a single game and did so three nights after Milwaukee was thumped 135-95 at Cleveland.

Greek star Antetokounmpo added 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and a blocked shot for visiting Milwaukee, which improved to 29-13, three games behind Boston for the Eastern Conference lead. Alec Burks scored 33 points off the bench, hitting 7-of-14 3-point shots, to lead Detroit, which fell to a league-worst 4-38.

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid had his 20th consecutive game since mid-November with at least 30 points, scoring 33 while grabbing 10 rebounds for Philadelphia in a 97-89 victory at Charlotte. The Cameroonian star sank 11-of-23 shots from the floor and 11-of-12 from the free throw line with five assists and three blocked shots for the 76ers. Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 33 points to power the Oklahoma City Thunder over Minnesota 102-97, lifting the visitors (29-13) within a game of the host Timberwolves (30-12) for the Western Conference lead. An "SGA" 3-pointer with 74 seconds remaining gave the Thunder a 96-94 lead. Rudy Gobert sank a free throw for Minnesota but Jalen Williams made four free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal Oklahoma City's victory.

Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 38 points while Julius Randle added a triple double with 18 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the host New York Knicks over Toronto 126-100.

French rookie star Victor Wembanyama scored a game-high 24 points, pulled down eight rebounds, blocked six shots and passed off four assists to spark the San Antonio Spurs over host Washington 131-127. The 20-year-old, 2.24m center was the top pick in last year's NBA Draft and his seven points led a closing 22-6 run over the final five minutes by the Spurs (8-34) to defeat the Wizards (7-34) in a matchup of the NBA's second- and third-worst clubs.

Turkish center Alperen Sengun had game highs of 37 points and 14 rebounds to spark the Houston Rockets over visiting Utah 127-126 in overtime. Sengun's two free throws with 20 seconds remaining sent the game into overtime at 115-115 and his 3-point play with 52 seconds left in overtime lifted the Rockets level at 126-126.

Jabari Smith put Houston ahead with a free throw and Utah's Jordan Clarkson, who led the Jazz with 33 points, missed a jumper on the final shot to give the Rockets the victory. Donovan Mitchell and reserve Sam Merrill each scored 18 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers over host Atlanta 116-95.

DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points and Ayo Dosunmu added 20 off the bench to lead Chicago in a 125-96 home victory over Memphis.