The Milwaukee Bucks continued to stay No. 1 in the Eastern Conference with an eight game win streak after they defeated the Utah Jazz 122-118 at the Fiserv Forum. Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 50 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and, more importantly, zero turnovers.

The Greek Freak became the fourth player in NBA history to get at least 50 points and 10 rebounds without committing any turnovers, after Moses Malone, Michael Jordan and Carmelo Anthony. This is also Antetokounmpo's 17th straight double-double this season and he became the first player to post 17 consecutive double-doubles since the beginning of the season after Bill Walton (1976-77).

Earlier this month, Antetokounmpo played one of his worst halfs this season against the Jazz at the Vivint Smart Home Arena. He missed all seven shots and got only two points via free throws in the first two quarters.

Having learned his lesson, Antetokounmpo aimed for the Jazz paint from the beginning. Without Rudy Gobert who sat out, the Jazz could not stop the Greek Freak at all. He made 13 of 20 shots to score 26 points under the rim, earned 19 free throws (made 13), grabbed six offensive rebounds and turned them into 11 second-chance points. He even buried three 3-pointers and one of them was made after the Jazz tied the score 105-105 in the fourth quarter.

As a major MVP contender this season, Antetokounmpo was relatively quiet recently compared with the other three rivals – LeBron James led the Los Angeles Lakers its No. 1 ranking the league; Luka Doncic kept putting down ridiculous numbers; James Harden averaged almost 40 points per game. The Greek Freak used Monday's game to announce his presence on the MVP contest.

Anthony claims first victory for Rip City

The Portland Trail Blazers finally won after they beat the Chicago Bulls 117-94 at the United Center. This is also the first win for Carmelo Anthony since he joined Rip City. The 10-time All-Star forward put down 25 points, eight rebounds and four 3-pointers. He also surpassed Alex English to rank No. 18 on the list of NBA all-time career scoring leaders with 25,615 points.

"I'm starting to get my feel and my flow back. I told you before I'm just taking it one day at a time," said Anthony in postgame interview.

Portland's leader Damian Lillard was struggling with his shooting in the game but considering that Chicago were not a strong enemy and Anthony was on fire, Lillard enjoyed playing as an orchestrator. He delivered in total 12 assists in the game.

Embiid gets 'Marc Gasol phobia'

Like Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid got a chance for revenge as the Philadelphia 76ers came to Canada to challenge the Toronto Raptors who knocked them out in the playoffs last season. Nonetheless, Embiid failed to grasp the chance as the 76ers suffered a 101-96 loss at Scotiabank Arena.

What's even more humiliating for Embiid was that he missed all 11 shots and ended up scoreless. This is also the first zero-point game in his career. Before Monday, the 25-year-old could get 24.2 points per game and he has been a big headache for most teams.

However, Marc Gasol may be one of the few exceptions. In the 12 games between him and Embiid, the Spanish giant managed to limit Embiid's performance to 16 points per game with a field goal rate of 36 percent and a 3-point rate of 24 percent.

When asked about his performance, Embiid said: "Defensively, they're everywhere. They're so long and they make sure they pack the paint."

The truth is, in spite of his underperformance, Embiid still holds the key to defeating Toronto. Without any points from him, Philadelphia only lost by five points in the end – Pascal Siakam killed the game with a last-second dunk. Embiid does not need to destroy Gasol and all he needs to do is to play like himself.

James continues to add glories to his career

The Los Angeles Lakers achieved their eighth consecutive win as the team defeated the San Antonio Spurs 114-104 at the AT & T Center. LeBron James made 13 of 24 shots, including four 3-pointers, to get 33 points and 14 rebounds.

Tuesday's game also witnessed 34-year-old James become the fifth player in NBA history to make over 12,000 shots in his career. The previous four are: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15,837), Karl Malone (13,528), Wilt Chamberlain (12,681) and Michael "you find me in every record" Jordan (12,192).

Moreover, the four shots made from the 3-point line also helped James surpass J.J. Redick and Predrag Stojakovic to rank No. 18 on the list of NBA all-time career 3-point scoring leaders. James' (1,761) next target is Rashard Lewis (1,787).

In fact the two teams were equally matched in the first three quarters of the game for different reasons. On the Lakers' side, Anthony Davis was apparently pulling his punches in offense because of his shoulder problem. As for the Spurs, well, that's probably the best they could do.

The turning point happened in the fourth quarter when San Antonio put LaMarcus Aldridge on the bench and James made three 3-pointers in a row to expand LA's lead to double-digits. After that, though Aldridge came back and led the team to launch counterstrike, it was simply too late.

Other games on Monday included: (home teams in bold):

Brooklyn Nets 108-106 Cleveland Cavaliers

Orlando Magic 88-103 Detroit Pistons

Memphis Grizzlies 114-126 Indiana Pacers

Minnesota Timberwolves 125-113 Atlanta Hawks

Sacramento Kings 102-103 Boston Celtics

Charlotte Hornets 100 – 117 Miami Heat

Oklahoma City Thunder 100-97 Golden State Warriors