Antetokounmpo destroys Cavaliers

LOS ANGELES - Giannis Antetokounmpo led a night of upsets in the NBA Tuesday with 34 points as the Milwaukee Bucks stunned LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Antetokounmpo, 21, also grabbed 12 rebounds and contributed five assists as a Cavs side featuring both James and Kyrie Irving failed to fire. Greek international Antetokounmpo was ably supported by Jabari Parker (18 points) and Michael Beasley (17) as the Bucks scored a win which improves their season to 8-8. The Cavs loss saw the champions fall to 13-3 for the season. James finished with 22 points to lead the scoring for the Cavs, ahead of Irving with 20 points at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. But the star of the night was Antetokounmpo, who became one of the highest paid players in the NBA earlier this year when he inked a $100 million four-year deal worth around $25 million a season. James said the Cavs have been caught napping. “We let our guard down a little bit,” James said. The Bucks’ upset win was the biggest shock of the day as various in-form teams ended up losing to unheralded opposition. Nets 127, Clippers 122 (2OT): Sean Kilpatrick scored 31 of his career-high 38 points in the fourth quarter and two overtime periods, and the Brooklyn Nets stopped a seven-game losing streak by rallying for a wild 127-122 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Kilpatrick finished off Brooklyn’s first win since Nov. 12 in Phoenix by providing the final margin with 13.5 seconds left. He drove through the lane, flipped up a layup while getting fouled by DeAndre Jordan and made the basket. Before the three-hour, five-minute marathon finished, the Nets had to withstand game-tying three-pointers by Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford. Magic 95, Spurs 83: Serge Ibaka scored 18 points and Nikola Vucevic added 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench as Orlando ended a 10-game losing streak against San Antonio. Evan Fournier added 13 points, Aaron Gordon scored 11 and Efrid Payton 10 as the Magic (7-11) snapped a four-game skid this season. Pelicans 105, Lakers 88: Anthony Davis recorded his 11th double-double of the season finishing with 41 points and 16 rebounds as New Orleans ended a two-game losing streak with its fifth consecutive home victory. Davis recorded a double-double featuring at least 20 points and 10 rebounds for a fourth consecutive game. It was the seventh time this season that Davis finished with at least 35 points and 10 rebounds. Los Angeles (9-10), already playing without point guard D’Angelo Russell (knee), lost shooting guard Nick Young to a strained right Achilles just 1:50 into the game. Pistons 112, Hornets 89: The Pistons lost star center Andre Drummond to an ejection late in the first half but rolled to just their second road win of the season. Jazz 120, Rockets 101: Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 31 points and Rudy Gobert added 16 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots as Utah won its third straight home game.