Giannis Antetokounmpo earned his first triple-double of the year and Jabari Parker led the way with 22 points as the Milwaukee Bucks knocked off the visiting Orlando Magic 93-89 Monday night.
With the victory, Milwaukee stopped a three game losing skid. Much of the positive play from Parker, who scored 15 of his 22 points via the 3-point line, setting a new career high in threes with five. His hottest streak came in the third quarter, a period in which he spotted up from downtown four times.
Michael Beasley was vital once again off the bench, tallying 14 points and shooting 50 percent from the floor.
Defense was also played a major impact in the game, as the Bucks forced 25 Orlando turnovers and came away with 25 points off those turnovers. Milwaukee is a top-5 team in points off turnovers.
Magic point guard Elfrid Payton noted the Bucks ability to take advantage of those their mistakes.
“It really hurt us a lot,” said Payton. “We felt pretty solid in the half court, but those turnovers really hurt us. They were able to get in transition. That’s what they excel in, and they did a good job with that.”
Despite the gleaming stats from the dynamic Bucks duo, Orlando stuck with Milwaukee throughout and clawed their way in the final moments of the game. A pair of free throws at the 7:52 mark made it a nine-point favor to Milwaukee, but Orlando would not relent, rattling off a nine-point run that knotted things up.
The Bucks would respond with a quick 5-0 run of their own, led by a Matthew Dellavedova 3-pointer and an Antetokounmpo slam dunk. Orlando would never get within three points from that point out, as the Milwaukee defense came up big in the final moments of the game, the highlight being Antetokounmpo swatting away an attempt from Serge Ibaka with 1:43 remaining.
For the Magic, Ibaka highlighted the stat sheet with 21 points while Evan Fournier mixed in 18 of his own. Bismack Biyombo tied his season high with 13 points off the bench and added 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
The Bucks will spend the Thanksgiving holiday in Milwaukee, as they will take on the Toronto Raptors this Friday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.