NBA Cup: Giannis Antetokounmpo stars as Milwaukee Bucks win again

Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his second triple-double of the season as the Milwaukee Bucks led wire-to-wire to beat the visiting Indiana Pacers.

The NBA’s two-time Most Valuable Player claimed 37 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as the Bucks won 129-117 on Friday to improve to a 2-0 record in the NBA Cup.

Damian Lillard added 24 points and 13 assists for his third straight double-double, and the result means Milwaukee have won five of their last six since opening the season with a 2-8 record.

They had six players in double figures for points, with Antetokounmpo, 29, recording his 47th career triple-double.

Jaylen Brown had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 108-96 win at the stubborn Washington Wizards.

Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday added 16 points each for last season’s NBA champions, who have won three straight overall and are 2-1 in the NBA Cup.

James Harden had 22 points and nine assists as the Los Angeles Clippers extended their winning streak to four games with a 104-88 victory against the visiting Sacramento Kings.

The Clippers were without leading scorer Norman Powell because of a hamstring strain and are now 1-1 in the in-season tournament, which concludes next month with the semi-finals and championship game being played in Las Vegas.

Last season’s MVP Nikola Jokic returned for the Denver Nuggets after missing three games for the birth of his second child and had a triple-double of 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists.

However, that was not enough to stop the Nuggets losing 123-120 at home to the Dallas Mavericks, for whom Naji Marshall scored a career-high 26 points in the absence of Luka Doncic, who will miss at least four games because of a wrist injury.

Jared McCain declared to the crowd that he is “the rookie of the year” after scoring a three-pointer in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 113-98 win over the visiting Brooklyn Nets.

The 20-year-old, who was the 16th overall draft pick in June, scored 30 points as the Sixers halted a five-game losing streak, despite playing without Joel Embiid and Paul George.

McCain posted his seventh consecutive game scoring 20-plus points, joining Embiid, Allen Iverson, Jerry Stackhouse and Lee Shaffer as the only rookies in franchise history to accomplish that feat,