NEW YORK (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 36 points and 12 rebounds to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Brooklyn Nets 129-125 on Monday night.
Damian Lillard added 21 points, and Jae Crowder had 15. Milwaukee improved to 4-2 with its first road victory of the season.
Cam Thomas scored 45 points for Brooklyn in his fourth 30-point game of the season. Mikal Bridges had 31 points, and Lonnie Walker IV added 19 points. Brooklyn fell to 3-4 overall and 0-3 at home.
Antetokounmpo entered with more points in his career against Brooklyn than any other opponent (817), and the Nets were without center Nic Claxton and forward Cam Johnson for the sixth straight game.
Despite trailing by 10 in the second half, the Bucks appeared poised to pull away after taking the lead with a 17-5 third-quarter-closing run, then building a nine-point advantage by scoring 12 of the first 17 points in the fourth.
Brooklyn roared back, led by Thomas who scored seven of the points on his team’s 12-0 run that gave the Nets a 115-12 lead with five minutes left.
But the Bucks scored 17 of the final 27 points, keyed by Antetokounmpo’s nine points in the span and two crucial blocks in the game’s final minute.