Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a back injury with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 123-102 victory at the Chicago Bulls in the NBA on Monday night.
Antetokounmpo, the reigning MVP and the league's second-leading scorer with an average of 30.5 points per game entering this one, had missed the Bucks' past two games.
He played only 27 minutes and sat out the final five as Milwaukee pulled away from the mid-table Bulls to strengthen their clear lead at the top of the Eastern Conference.
The best of The Greek Freak: 23 PTS | 10 REB | 6 AST | 27 MIN. pic.twitter.com/GwnrOe02OO — Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 31, 2019
Team-mate Khris Middleton led the scoring with 25 points and Eric Bledsoe had 15 after missing eight matches with a fractured leg.
Despite being injury-depleted, the Washington Wizards scored perhaps their best win of the year with an upset 123-105 result over the visiting Miami Heat.
The Wizards were 13th to Miami's second in the East before the game, and were missing All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal and five other key players.
Jordan McRae with tonight's @Biofreeze Performance of the Night!#WizHeat | @JordyMac52 pic.twitter.com/5QxpQlSJt0 — Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) December 31, 2019
But in their absence Jordan McRae led the way with a season-high 29 points, Garrison Mathews had a career-high 28, and Ian Mahinmi added a career-best 25.
Miami, who had a five-game winning streak broken, were led by Jimmy Butler with 27 points.
In Salt Lake City, the Utah Jazz had an expected win over the Detroit Pistons, 104-81.
See you next year! pic.twitter.com/fybM4c6SEd — Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 31, 2019
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points and Jordan Clarkson had 20, while Rudy Gobert had 13 points and a whopping 19 rebounds for the Jazz, who have won eight in nine.
Derrick Rose poured in 20 points for the Pistons, who have lost seven straight against Utah.
In other games, the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the visiting Brooklyn Nets 122-115 in overtime, the Atlanta Hawks were 101-93 victors at the Orlando Magic and the Phoenix Suns won 122-116 at the Portland Trail Blazers.
