Mirotic magic from bench powers Bulls to win over Bucks
Chicago forward Nikola Mirotic came off the bench to score 24 points and spark the visiting Bulls over Milwaukee 115-106 in an NBA match-up yesterday morning (Singapore time).
The 26-year-old Montenegro-born Spaniard made nine-of-18 from the floor, including four-of-eight from three-point range, and grabbed eight rebounds to spark the Bulls to their 11th win in 33 games.
"Great game by us. We really stepped up," Mirotic said. "We're moving in the right direction."
Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks (17-15) with 28 points.
"We executed really good against Giannis," Mirotic said.
"Offensively, they really found me. We were pumped up. Defensively, we rebounded really well. Offensively, we need to keep improving."
J.J. Barea led Dallas with 20 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 18 as the Mavericks upset visiting Toronto 98-93.
The Mavericks took only their third win in 11 games to stand 10-25, still the worst record in the Western Conference.
The Raptors, led by Kirk Lowry's 23 points, saw their six-game win streak snapped and fell to 23-9 with just their second loss in 14 games.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey lamented his club shooting only 33.7 per cent from the floor.
"None of us came out in the right disposition, ready to compete," Casey said.
"Any time you shoot 33 per cent, you're not going to beat too many people in the league.
"Defensively, I thought we tried to lock it down the stretch. But again, the way they started the game going coast-to-coast, we were still on Christmas break." - AFP
OTHER RESULTS:
Detroit 107 Indiana 83, Miami 107 Orlando 89, San Antonio 109 Brooklyn 97, Denver 107 Utah 83, Phoenix 99 Memphis 97, LA Clippers 122 Sacramento 95
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