Bucks cruise without Giannis, Heat edge Pacers

LA, December 28: The Milwaukee Bucks cruised without star Giannis Antetokounmpo in the NBA, while the Miami Heat recorded an impressive win on Friday.

Antetokounmpo was sidelined with back soreness, but the Bucks were untroubled in a 112-86 thrashing of the Atlanta Hawks.

Khris Middleton starred with 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Ersan Ilyasova had a double-double of 18 points and 17 rebounds.

Milwaukee improved to 28-5 as they bounced back from their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

@Khris22m leads the @Bucks to an NBA-best 28th win!

23 PTS | 8 REB | 7 AST | 3 3PM pic.twitter.com/HYBVMD6F7O

— NBA (@NBA) December 28, 2019

Miami are third in the Eastern Conference and edged the Indiana Pacers 113-112.

Bam Adebayo's double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds led the Heat as Jimmy Butler contributed despite struggling from the field.

Butler finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists, but went three-of-11.

Celtics roll on as Adams guides Thunder

The Boston Celtics posted their fifth straight win by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-117.

Jaylen Brown (34 points) and Jayson Tatum (30) were the stars for Boston.

Steven Adams' 14 points, 12 rebounds and three assists helped the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-102 overtime win against the Charlotte Hornets.

The Golden State Warriors made it four straight wins as D'Angelo Russell's 31 points guided them past the Phoenix Suns 105-96.

76ers' road woes remain

The Philadelphia 76ers are 16-2 at home but slipped to 7-9 on the road after crashing to a surprise 98-97 loss to the Orlando Magic.

Flying Jones

Miami's Derrick Jones Jr. delivered an epic alley-oop.

DERRICK. JONES. JR.

Halftime:@MiamiHEAT 58@Pacers 55

: https://t.co/lZZApsOamv pic.twitter.com/NhZguAVwo7

— NBA (@NBA) December 28, 2019

Friday's results

Boston Celtics 129-117 Cleveland Cavaliers Oklahoma City Thunder 104-102 Charlotte Hornets Orlando Magic 98-97 Philadelphia 76ers Milwaukee Bucks 112-86 Atlanta Hawks Miami Heat 113-112 Indiana Pacers Golden State Warriors 105-96 Phoenix Suns

Raptors at Celtics

After back-to-back losses, the Toronto Raptors (21-10) face a test against the Celtics (22-7) at TD Garden on Saturday.