Giannis Antetokounmpo is eager for the Milwaukee Bucks to learn from their winning-streak-ending loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Joel Embiid and James Harden led the charge as the 76ers overcame a 14-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter to win 133-130 in Milwaukee on Saturday, snapping the Bucks' 16-game winning run.
Milwaukee went into the contest with the best record in the NBA but Embiid – whose three-pointer with 42 seconds left on the clock nudged the 76ers ahead – and Harden ensured the league's longest winning streak of the season came to a shuddering halt.
Embiid finished with 31 points, 10 assists and six rebounds to back up Harden's 38 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, while Tyrese Maxey added 26 points.
It was the first time two Philadelphia players finished with at 30 or more points and 10 or more assists in the same game since Hal Greer Wilt Chamberlain did so in October 1965.
Antetokounmpo now wants to see the Bucks respond.
"They went wherever they wanted to go, scoring from the paint, floaters, isos, offensive rebounds, free throws, threes," said Antetokounmpo, who had a double-double of 34 points and 13 rebounds.
"You name it. They were able to get everything.
"We've got to be able to play 48 minutes of good basketball, defend for 48 minutes. This is a good lesson for us.
"We did a good job the first three quarters. Obviously, the fourth quarter, a lot of free throws, they made some tough threes.
"It was basically our game but they came out, they were aggressive, they moved the ball, got downhill to the paint."
For his part, Philadelphia talisman Embiid was not convinced he had the best of games at an individual level.
"I thought tonight I could have been better. I missed a lot of easy shots I usually make," he said.
The 76ers hold a 41-22 record for the season and pulled to within four games of the Bucks in the race for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
"It's good, having these types of games, especially with our schedule the rest of the way," Embiid added.
"It's good for us, prepares us for the playoffs. It's good and bad. Good because you know you're able to do it, but it's also bad because you put yourself in that position [down 18].
"So maybe we should try to find a way to not put ourselves in those positions in the first place so we don't have to do it again."
Harden said: "Give ourselves a chance. That was the whole fourth quarter. I feel like they had us that entire game, and then, that fourth quarter, we came out with some pop.
"You find something that works and you try to stick with it. We found something late, in that fourth quarter, and we just stuck with it. We got some stops and things changed for us."
Heat rally in fourth quarter to even NBA Finals at 1-1
Gabe Vincent scored 23 points and helped spark a fourth-quarter rally that propelled the Miami Heat to a 111-108 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, evening the championship series at 1-1.
The Heat overcame an eight-point deficit to start the fourth quarter to snap the Nuggets' seven-game winning streak and send the series to Miami all tied. Game 3 will take place Wednesday.
Denver also was handed its first loss in 10 home games during this postseason despite another big effort from two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, who poured in 41 points on 16-of-28 shooting along with 11 rebounds.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each contributed 21 points for the Heat, while Duncan Robinson scored all 10 of his points during a pivotal 15-2 run to open the fourth quarter that sent Miami ahead to stay.
Jokic scored the final six points of the third quarter to give the Nuggets an 83-75 lead that turned out to be short-lived. Robinson had the first eight points of Miami's momentum-shifting surge, and Vincent later added a 3-pointer before hitting two free throws that put the Heat up 90-85 with nine minutes remaining.
Miami held a 107-95 advantage after Caleb Martin's 3-pointer with 3:39 left to play, but the Nuggets responded with a late charge to put the outcome back in doubt.
Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray hit 3-pointers to ignite an 11-2 run Murray capped with another triple that pulled Denver within 109-106 entering the final minute.
After Jokic countered two Butler free throws with a short turnaround jumper with 35.6 seconds left, Butler missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to give the Nuggets a chance to tie.
Murray misfired on a step-back 3-point try with 1.9 seconds left, however, and Martin grabbed the rebound as time expired.
Denver, which led by as many as 15 points in the first half, had been 11-0 this postseason when holding a double-digit lead.
Miami Heat rally late against Denver Nuggets to even NBA finals series
The Miami Heat produced a fourth-quarter comeback to win the second game of the NBA finals 111-108 and even up the seven-match series against the Denver Nuggets.
The Heat trailed by eight heading into the final period, having trailed by 15 earlier in the game in the wake of another massive performance from Nikola Jokic.
Jokic scored 41 points, scoring 16 of 28 shots from the floor including one with 36 seconds remaining which cut the Heat’s lead to three points.
But after Jimmy Butler missed on Miami’s next possession, Jamal Murray was unable to tie the scores with an effort on the buzzer.
The defeat was Denver’s first since May 7 and they had won all 11 play-off games in which they had opened a double-digit lead.
They had trailed 21-10 in the opening quarter before a barrage of three-point scores helped them to a 44-32 advantage which had been trimmed to six points at the break.
And Miami held on through the third quarter before the late surge that takes the series to Miami all square.
Gabe Vincent led the way for Miami with 23 points as Butler and Bam Adebayo each grabbed 21.
Milan 3-1 Hellas Verona: Leao double condemns visitors to Serie A relegation play-off
Milan signed off the Serie A season with a 3-1 victory as Rafael Leao's double condemned Hellas Verona to a relegation play-off with Spezia.
The Rossoneri wrapped up a frustrating campaign on a winning note at San Siro, with a late Leao brace enough to seal three points.
Milan had already secured Champions League football for another term but struggled at times against the visitors, who cancelled out Olivier Giroud's first-half penalty through Marco Faraoni's 72nd-minute strike.
Yet Leao struck in the 85th minute and again seven minutes later, leaving Verona to face a relegation decider with Spezia, who succumbed to a late 2-1 loss at Roma.
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