Bucks cruise to victory against Pacers

LOS ANGELES: The NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks broke out of a mini slump and the Oklahoma City Thunder kept up their playoff push on Thursday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and made 12 rebounds as the first place Bucks regained their swagger by cruising to a 117-98 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

In the late game, Russell Westbrook and Paul George combined for 69 points as the Thunder overcame Damian Lillard’s 51-points to beat the Trail Blazers 129-121 in a thrilling overtime contest in Portland.

The Bucks had hit a snag as they were coming off losing back-to-back games for the first time this season when they failed to hold big leads against the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz.

The funk didn’t last long, though, as they bounced back nicely against the Pacers. Khris Middleton added 27 points for the Bucks, who improved to a NBA-best 49-16 on the season.

Myles Turner had 22 points and Bojan Bogdanovic 17 for the Pacers, who lost star guard Victor Oladipo to a season-ending injury last month.

The loss also ended Bogdanovic’s streak of five straight 20-point games. The Bucks have now beaten the Pacers in four of five contests this season.

The Bucks opened their largest lead of the first half at 47-33 on two free throws by Antetokounmpo, but the Pacers went on a 17-7 run to close within 54-50 at the break.