Jaylen Brown had 26 points and eight assists as the Boston Celtics cooled off Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks with a 119-116 victory on Wednesday in a clash between two of the Eastern Conference's top teams.
Jayson Tatum added 23 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 as Boston bounced back from Monday's overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets that snapped its six-game winning streak.
The Celtics also ended Milwaukee's run of five straight wins while preventing Antetokounmpo from reaching the 40-point mark for a third consecutive game.
Boston held Antetokounmpo to 21 points on 7-of-20 shooting two nights after the two-time NBA MVP went 20-of-23 from the field in a 42-point performance Monday against the Washington Wizards.
The Celtics never trailed in improving to 6-0 at home this season, as they opened the game with a 10-0 run and built a 29-17 lead after one quarter before extending the margin to 67-53 at halftime.
Milwaukee got a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit down to four in the final minute, but the Celtics hit 5 of 6 free throws late to seal the win.
Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 28 points on 12-of-18 shooting, while Damian Lillard finished with 27 points and five assists.
Streaking Magic survive Jokic’s triple-double
The Orlando Magic won their fifth straight game, as Franz Wagner scored 24 of his 27 points in the second half in a 124-119 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Paolo Banchero had 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:49 left to put Orlando ahead for good.
Goga Bitadze, Jalen Suggs and Wagner clinched the win with six straight free throws in the final 14 seconds.
Jokic had 30 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for his sixth triple-double of the season and 111th of his career, the fourth-most in NBA history.
Gilgeous-Alexander leads red-hot Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points and 12 assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to their sixth consecutive win, 116-102 over the Chicago Bulls.
Chet Holmgren tallied 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks and Isaiah Joe added 20 points for the Thunder, who are on their longest winning streak since the 2018-19 season.
DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points for the Bulls after making just one basket in the first half.
Chicago played without leading scorer Zach LaVine, who sat with a sore right foot.