ALL-STAR CAPTAIN GIANNIS FUELS BUCKS TRIUMPH

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo celebrated his confirmation as an NBA All-Star team captain by pouring in 41 points to propel the Bucks to a 141-131 NBA victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday as the Memphis Grizzlies’ slide continued.

The Bucks scored a season-high 85 first-half points and led by as many as 33 before fending off a late Pacers rally in Indianapolis, notching a third straight victory.

“We had a good rhythm and were able to just hang on in the second half,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters after the game.

Indiana had sliced the deficit to eight points with just over four minutes remaining, trying to exploit Antetokounmpo’s free-throw troubles by fouling him repeatedly.

The Milwaukee star, who pulled down 12 rebounds and handed out six assists, helped fend them off by making five free throws in the space of a minute and while the Pacers got the gap to seven points with 2:06 to play, they would get no closer.

Antetokounmpo’s dominant performance, including a breathtaking fourth-quarter dunk over Oshae Brissett, came a day after he was confirmed as a starter and team captain for next month’s All-Star game, as the top vote-getter from the Eastern Conference.

The Grizzlies fell, 111-100, to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis, where the game was preceded by a moment of silence to honor the memory of Tyre Nichols—the Memphis man whose fatal beating has led to murder charges against five police officers.

Anthony Edwards scored 25 points to lead the Timberwolves.

Ja Morant had a triple-double of 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for Memphis, but the Grizzlies finished their road trip 0-5 on the heels of an 11-game winning streak.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said before the game his team had been saddened by the “devastating” news emerging from Memphis about Nichols during their weeklong road trip.

“It’s been hard to process,” Jenkins said. “There’s a lot of emotion. We can’t wait to get back home to put our arms around everyone in Memphis as they struggle with the senseless loss of life.”

The death of Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, after he was beaten by five Black officers after he was stopped on suspicion of reckless driving, sparked concern around the NBA.