Sacramento Kings tasted a 123-111 defeat on Milwaukee Bucks' home turf as Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton 28 points apiece to help the Bucks leap past the Kings.
Despite missing Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed the game to fulfill his new dad duties to his newborn son on Monday, the Bucks were propelled by the supporting role played by Brook Lopez, who scored 20 points.
Kings' streak comes to an end
Harrison Barnes scored 23 points and De'Aaron Fox added 17 points with 11 assists as the Kings' three-game winning streak ended. The Kings also had a three-game road winning streak snapped. The Bucks got off to a fast start without Antetokounmpo, taking a 14-point lead on multiple occasions in the first half. Milwaukee led 38-24 after one quarter before the Kings got back into the game.
Barnes scored 13 points in the second quarter as Sacramento went on a 10-0 run just before the break to take a 58-57 lead at halftime. The Kings led 90-88 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Bucks already were starting their run to take over the game.
Winning without Antetokounmpo
Milwaukee scored the final two points of the third quarter, then went on a 13-0 run to open the fourth to take a 101-90 lead. It was part of an overall 20-3 run for the Bucks. Milwaukee reached 100 points for the 77th consecutive game when Bledsoe hit a 3-pointer with 9:45 remaining. The Bucks improved to 62-15 in those games.
Sterling Brown had 11 points for Milwaukee, while Middleton had 11 rebounds and eight assists. Donte DiVincenzo and Wesley Matthews had 10 points each for the Bucks. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica had 16 points each for the Kings. Buddy Hield added 15 points for Sacramento, which entered with six victories in its previous eight games. The Bucks swept the season series 2-0 after they earned a 127-106 victory on January 10 at Sacramento, winning even while Antetokounmpo was held to a season-low 13 points.
(With inputs from agencies)
