Skip to main content
Open this photo in gallery:

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo looks to pass during the first half of a game against the New York Knicks, in New York, on Dec. 25, 2018.Seth Wenig/The Associated Press

Giannis Antetokounmpo was so eager to make a rim-rocking Christmas debut that he overshot the basket on his first attempt, a dunk from one side that ended with the ball all the way in the opposite corner.

“I was so excited that I went a little bit too high and I thought the rim was a foot taller,” Antetokounmpo said.

He and the Milwaukee Bucks eventually settled down and showed they belonged on the holiday stage.

Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 14 rebounds, and Milwaukee celebrated its return to the Christmas schedule by beating the New York Knicks 109-95 on Tuesday.

“This is one of the highest stages,” Antetokounmpo said. “Special teams play Christmas Day, and just it’s an opportunity for us and we’re really happy.”

Brook Lopez scored 20 points for the Bucks, who played on Christmas for the first time since 1977. They were selected for the showcase slate of games largely because of Antetokounmpo but the timing also was perfect to show an emerging team, which improved the NBA’s second-best record to 23-10.

Malcolm Brogdon finished with 17 points for the Bucks, the NBA scoring leaders who bounced back from a season-low 87 points in a loss to Miami on Saturday to win for the fifth time in six games.

“People come to see Giannis play but they’ve got to watch all of us, so it’s definitely a great opportunity for the rest of us to showcase as a team what we can do,” Brogdon said.

Rookie Kevin Knox scored 21 points for the Knicks, who have lost six straight Christmas Day games and fell to 22-31 in their NBA-record 53 appearances on the holiday.

“It’s on me to stay even in this whole thing, not be up and down emotionally because I [have] to keep their spirits up,” Knicks coach David Fizdale said. “They feel it. They’re human.”

New York has lost five in a row and 10 of 11 since rallying to stun the Bucks 136-134 in overtime on Dec. 1 at Madison Square Garden.

Antetokounmpo was angry that night with Knicks forward Mario Hezonja, who had dunked over him in the first quarter, then stared and stepped over him. Antetokounmpo felt it was disrespectful, vowing to punch Hezonja in the groin next time.

The Greek Freak was perhaps a little too pumped for the rematch – luckily, Brogdon was positioned to grab the rebound of his errant dunk in the corner and fired in a three-pointer – but he quickly got untracked.

It was only a seven-point game midway through the third quarter when Antetokounmpo began to seize control. His jumper followed by layup pushed the lead into double digits, and he scored 11 points in the Bucks’ 36-point period that ended with them leading 84-68 cushion.

“We played them really [well] in the first half – down two – in the locker room felt pretty good,” Knox said. “But that third quarter, defensively, offensively, just something slips with us.”

Noah Vonleh had 14 points and 15 rebounds, while Tim Hardaway Jr. had 14 points and 10 boards but shot just 4 for 18 for New York.

ROCKETS 113, THUNDER 109

James Harden scored 41 points and the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 113-109 for their seventh win in the past eight games.

Harden has scored 30 points or more in a career-high seven games in a row, marking the first time a player has done that since Russell Westbrook had eight consecutive 30-point games in November, 2016.

A three-pointer by Paul George with less than two minutes left got Oklahoma City within four before Harden missed a three-pointer. Westbrook missed a shot for the Thunder, but George stole the ball from Harden and was fouled by him.

George made both free throws to get the Thunder within two with 43.6 seconds left. Harden then drove past George and into the lane for a layup to make it 112-108 with 20.4 seconds left.

Westbrook made one of two free throws to cut it to three with 15 seconds left, and Austin Rivers made a free throw with 7.4 seconds left to secure the win.

George had 28 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder, and Westbrook added 21 points with nine rebounds and nine assists.

Harden became the first player to score 40 or more points on Christmas since Kevin Durant had 44 for the Thunder in 2010. Harden’s latest big game came as the Rockets played without Chris Paul, who missed his second straight game with a strained left hamstring. The nine-time all-star is out for at least the next two weeks with the injury suffered Thursday night.

Clint Capela had 16 points and tied a season high with 23 rebounds.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe