Corey Kispert scored 27 points and Deni Avdija added 23 as the Washington Wizards defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 117-113 on Tuesday night, despite Giannis Antetokounmpo’s triple-double.

Antetokounmpo finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists, reaching double figures in all three categories by the end of the third quarter. That wasn’t enough for Milwaukee, which entered the night with a 2 1/2-game lead over Cleveland for the Eastern Conference’s second spot.

Jordan Poole led Washington with 16 points and a career-high 13 assists, while Jared Butler added 17 points off the bench. Tristan Vukcevic, a 7-foot rookie from Serbia who signed with the Wizards in the middle of last month, scored 14 points. His previous career high was 6.

“It’s a step forward, maybe two steps forward,” Kispert said. “This is the attitude we need to have and the aggression we need to have when we play these kind of games, especially against a championship team like this. Super proud of everybody who played tonight.”

Washington led 58-54 at halftime and went on a 12-1 run in the third quarter to extend their lead to 15. Milwaukee shot 11 of 48 from three-point range on the night, but they finally hit a few near the end of the third, including Jae Crowder’s buzzer-beating shot that cut the deficit to five.

“We can’t get better shots, as far as the 3s we had,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “Our best 3-point shooters were wide open. … But we missed a lot of them.”

It got down to two in the fourth, but Washington managed to hold on. Kispert’s 3-pointer made it 113-106, and with Milwaukee behind by four in the final minute, Antetokounmpo fumbled the ball inside.

The Bucks regained possession and called a timeout with 21.9 seconds remaining. Khris Middleton made a layup, but Anthony Gill broke free behind Milwaukee’s press for a layup with 8.3 seconds left, extending the advantage to four.

“They crushed us in transition. This is what they do,” Rivers said. “We had inexcusable transition ‘D’ plays to start the third quarter. Three or four times they snuck from behind us, they drove us. Yeah, it’s a disappointing loss.”

The Bucks are 18-20 on the road.

Share this articleShare

“We don’t bring the necessary professionalism, seriousness, on the road,” Rivers said. “That’s something that we can fix. That’s something that we’re going to have to fix.”

Milwaukee was missing star player Damian Lillard (right groin strain), while Kyle Kuzma (right heel contusion) was out for the Wizards. Rivers indicated Lillard might return as early as Wednesday night.

The Bucks lost Patrick Beverley in the third quarter after Poole slid while driving to the hoop and collided with Beverley’s left leg. Both players were rattled up, but Poole was able to continue playing. Rivers believed Beverley hurt his ankle.