Antetokounmpo's 31 points lead Bucks past 76ers, 119-98

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 17 rebounds, Khris Middleton scored 25 points and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-98 on Saturday night in a matchup of Eastern Conference rivals.

Antetokounmpo added eight assists for Milwaukee, which won for the 16th time in its last 18 games to improve its NBA-best record to 48-8.

The Bucks led 56-50 at the half before Antetokounmpo scored the first seven points of the third quarter to give Milwaukee a quick 13-point lead. The Bucks would go on to outscore the 76ers 37-23 in the period to pull away.

Joel Embiid, coming off a 39-point performance on Thursday night, had 17 points and 11 rebounds but shot just 5 for 18. Furkan Korkmaz also scored 17 points for the 76ers, who fell to 9-20 on the road.

Philadelphia lost All-Star point guard Ben Simmons early in the first quarter. Simmons, who missed the 76ers' previous game with lower back tightness, headed to the locker room after making consecutive driving layups, the second with a little more than 7 minutes left in the opening quarter. He didn’t return after the injury flared up.

The Bucks got off to a scorching start, taking a 12-2 lead sparked by seven points from Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee led by as many as 11 in the quarter and held a 31-21 lead at the end.

Philadelphia pulled within 37-36 in the second before the Bucks used a 10-2 spurt to push the lead back to double digits.