LDN - Sports

NBA roundup: Durant returns from injury, gets tossed

[March 30, 2018] Giannis Antetokounmpo had a game-high 32 points and Khris Middleton added 23 Thursday night as the Milwaukee Bucks ran past the Golden State Warriors 116-107 in Oakland, Calif., in a game that featured the ejection of Kevin Durant.

Eric Bledsoe scored 18 of his 20 points and Antetokounmpo had 17 of his 32 in the second and third quarters, a 24-minute span during which the Bucks outscored the Warriors 63-45 to take command.

In his return from a six-game absence caused by fractured rib cartilage, Durant had 10 points and six assists in 17 minutes getting a bang-bang, two-technical ejection from referee Tre Maddox for arguing a call in the final seconds of the second period.

The Warriors also welcomed back Draymond Green from a three-game absence. He had 11 points, five rebounds and six assists in 28 minutes. Quinn Cook scored a career-best 30 points for the Warriors.

Spurs 103, Thunder 99

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and San Antonio made the plays down the stretch to outlast visiting Oklahoma City.

The win granted San Antonio a 2-2 split in the season series with Oklahoma City and pushed the Spurs into a tie for fourth place with the Thunder in the Western Conference standings with six games to play.

The double-double was the 25th of the season for Aldridge. Mills added 14 points for the Spurs. Paul George led the Thunder with 26 points, adding seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. Russell Westbrook added 19 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City.

Heat 103, Bulls 92

Miami moved one step closer to a playoff spot with a win over visiting Chicago.

The Heat could have clinched a postseason berth with the victory and a Pistons loss, but Detroit defeated Washington. Miami remains a half-game ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks for seventh place in the Eastern Conference, and the Heat are a half-game behind the sixth-place Wizards.

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Josh Richardson led Miami with 22 points. Eleven players scored for the Heat, who have won five of their past seven. David Nwaba and Noah Vonleh paced Chicago with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Portis had a career-high-tying 16 rebounds and Vonleh grabbed 13 boards for the Bulls, who dropped their seventh straight.

Pacers 106, Kings 103

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half to help Indiana post a victory over host Sacramento.

Victor Oladipo scored 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as Indiana won for the fourth straight time and fifth in six games. Thaddeus Young contributed 18 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who are percentage points behind the fourth-place Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 21 points and Buddy Hield added 20 for the Kings, who have lost five of their past six games.

Pistons 103, Wizards 92

Andre Drummond recorded the 20th 20-20 game of the career, and host Detroit won for the fifth time in six games, downing Washington.

Drummond powered for 24 points and 23 rebounds as the Pistons averted a four-game sweep in the season series. Detroit's Blake Griffin was a late scratch due to a right ankle contusion, missing a game for the first time since joining the team in late January.

Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. sustained a sprained right ankle early in the third quarter and did not return. All-Star point guard John Wall was active for the first time since undergoing left knee surgery in late January, but as expected, did not play. Bradley Beal led Washington with 15 points.

--Field Level Media

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