Suns come up short in road loss to Bucks

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points, Tony Snell made a clinching 3-pointer from the corner in the closing seconds and the Milwaukee Bucks held off the Phoenix Suns, 100-96 on Sunday.

Michael Beasley added 17 points and Malcolm Brogdon had 15 as the Bucks swept the two-game season series with the Suns. Greg Monroe finished with 14 points and Snell had 13.

TJ Warren led the Suns with 23 points. Alan Williams scored a career-high 17 points and tied his season high with 15 rebounds, while Devin Booker added 15 points and Eric Bledsoe had 11.

Clinging to a one-point lead, the Bucks came out of timeout with Monroe inbounding the ball to Antetokounmpo. He dribbled the clock down before passing to Brogdon, who whipped the ball to Snell in the corner. Snell hit a 3 with a defender flying at him.

Brogdon provided a big lift in the fourth quarter. He hit a 3 and added another basket before Jason Terry hit a wide-open 3-pointer as the Bucks appeared to take command. Beasley hit a step-back jumper with 5:17 to play and pushed the Bucks’ lead to 93-84.

But the Suns capitalized on Milwaukee’s turnovers and missed shots in the closing minute and pulled to 97-96 on three consecutive baskets by Marquese Chriss. The Bucks called time and walked off to scattered boos but regrouped to pull out the victory.

Alex Len’s dunk gave the Suns a nine-point lead with 4:47 left in the third quarter before the Bucks woke up. Milwaukee pulled ahead with an 18-5 run capped by Monroe’s driving layup and led 77-73 at the end of the quarter.

TIP-INS

Suns: The Suns are 11-9 against the Eastern Conference this season, including sweeps of Toronto and the New York Knicks. . The Suns outscored the Bucks 48-44 in the paint. . The Suns shot 54.1 percent from the floor in the first half.

Bucks: Milwaukee shot 51.3 percent from the floor. . G Axel Toupane signed a 10-day contract with Milwaukee on Saturday. He did not dress for the game. He appeared in 28 games with Raptors 905 of the NBA D-League this season.

CHIPPY FIRST HALF

Five technicals were called in the first half, as the teams had to be separated on two different occasions.

Antetokounmpo was given a technical foul for shoving Chriss after the two became tangled underneath the Bucks basket during the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Bucks coach Jason Kidd and Bledsoe picked up double-technicals. Then, Booker and Khris Middleton received double-technicals after the two exchanged exchanging words following a foul by Booker.

UP NEXT

Suns: Travel to play the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.

Bucks: Travel to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.