Controversial no-call aids Bucks' last-second win

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points, including the questionable game-winning basket with 1.3 seconds left, and the Milwaukee Bucks ended Oklahoma City's six-game winning streak, beating the Thunder 97-95 on Friday night.

Replays clearly showed Antetokounmpo stepped out of bounds on his drive, but officials Derek Stafford, Ben Taylor and Leon Wood refused to review the play after the buzzer sounded, despite the pleas of Thunder coach Billy Donovan and several of his players.

Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 40 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. The Thunder had gone 11-3 in December before playing Friday without one of its stars, Paul George, who sat out with left knee soreness.

Khris Middleton scored 20 points and John Henson added 18 points for the Bucks, who completed a sweep of the Northwest Division's top two teams on consecutive nights. Milwaukee rallied from 20 points down in the third quarter on Thursday to beat Minnesota, then jumped to a 22-point first-half lead against Oklahoma City and held on (see full recap).

Dennis Smith Jr.'s first triple-double helps Mavs beat Pelicans
NEW ORLEANS — Dennis Smith Jr. had his first career triple-double and the Dallas Mavericks made a franchise-record 22 3-pointers in a 128-120 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.

Smith had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He was 5 of 7 from 3-point range and 8 of 12 overall. Wesley Matthews made 4 of 7 3-pointers and scored 18 points, and Devin Harris hit 5 of 7 3-pointers and added 17 points to help Dallas win three consecutive game for the first time this season. Dwight Powell scored 15 points, J.J. Barea had 14 and Harrison Barnes and Dirk Nowitzki 13 each.

Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 33 points. DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points and 20 rebounds, Jrue Holiday added 23 points, and E'Twaun Moore had 16.

The Mavericks made 13 of 18 3-pointers as they built a 17-point halftime lead (see full recap).

Markkanen scores career-high 32 points as Bulls beat Pacers
CHICAGO — Nikola Mirotic came in and started firing away. Lauri Markkanen took over for Chicago in the second half.

The sharp-shooting big men just overwhelmed the Indiana Pacers.

Markkanen scored a career-high 32 points, Mirotic finished with 28 and the surging Bulls beat the Pacers 119-107 on Friday night for their third consecutive win.

"We just keep believing in each other and playing for each other," Markkanen said.

Led by Mirotic and Markkanen, Chicago made 18 of 39 3-point attempts in its 10th win in 12 games. Robin Lopez and Bobby Portis each scored 12 points, helping the Bulls to their seventh straight victory at home for their longest such streak since a seven-game run spanning two seasons in 2013 (see full recap).

Porter scores 26, Wizards hand Rockets 5th straight loss
WASHINGTON — The Houston Rockets won 25 of their first 29 games to notch the NBA's best record, then quickly entered their worst tailspin in nearly five years.

Otto Porter Jr. scored 26 points, Bradley Beal and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 21 each, and the Washington Wizards beat the Rockets 121-103 Friday night for Houston's fifth straight loss. It's the longest skid for the Rockets since dropping seven straight from Jan. 9-19, 2013.

NBA scoring leader James Harden matched his season low with 20 points for the Rockets. Chris Paul returned after missing three games with a strained groin and had eight points and six assists in 26 minutes.

Houston had completed a 14-game winning streak before the alarming slide (see full recap).

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