The Milwaukee Bucks edged the Los Angeles Clippers 106-105 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday, extending their winning streak to six games.

Giannis Antetokounmpo shot 21-for-39 from the field to drop 54 points and 19 rebounds for the Bucks. It was his third 50+point game in a month. His performance varied dramatically in the first quarter, during which he went 3-for-9 from the field, and the rest of the competition, in which he made 18 of his 30 attempts.

The Clippers' specifically-designed defense on Antetokounmpo had a lot to do with the huge difference of his performance. From the beginning of Thursday's game, coach Tyronn Lue had full-sized center Ivica Zubac mark him. Zubac remained below the free throw line and only stepped up to deflect Antetokounmpo's shooting when he drove in. If Antetokounmpo fired from downtown or in the middle range, Zubac was willing to bet on his inaccuracy.

The Bucks were obviously not ready for the opponents' defensive arrangements. Not only did they watch Antetokounmpo produce six bricks, the rest of the team missed all six of their triples in the first quarter. They only scored 15 points in this period, almost repeating their record of scoring the fewest points (13) in one quarter this season.

The first turning point happened early in the second quarter when Zubac was called for his third personal foul. As a result, he had to head to the bench, which set Antetokounmpo free. The "Greek Freak" immediately began his dominance of the paint by shooting 6-for-6 under the hoop, scoring 14 points in this period alone.

Zubac came back in the second half and managed to avoid further foul trouble until the final two minutes of the game. However, Antetokounmpo apparently figured out how to deal with Zubac's defense. Not only did he continue to increase his attacks in transition to catch Zubac off guard, Antetokounmpo also grew smarter in shaking off Zubac by using the Euro step.

Having scored 14 points in the third quarter, Antetokounmpo was too hot to be stopped in the final period. He even made three jumpers in this quarter and drew three consecutive fouls by Zubac in two minutes between 3:48 and 1:47, throwing the Clippers' defensive spine for Thursday's game out while getting a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds in the four quarter alone.

The Clippers continued their awkward record of underperforming winning teams (teams that hold a winning percentage of .500 or higher) on Thursday night. They blew a lead as big as 21 points (76-55) in the third quarter and scored zero point in nearly four minutes at the end of the final period.

As the Clippers' star duo, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George must be held responsible for the loss. The Bucks had Jrue Holiday and Wesley Matthews guard Leonard in most of the defensive possessions. Holiday is 11 centimeters shorter than Leonard; Matthews is eight centimeters shorter, not to mention that he is too slow due to both aging and a left achilles tendon tear. With his ability of shooting to kill in the middle range off the dribble, Leonard doesn't fear the help defense of either Antetokounmpo nor Brook Lopez.

Nonetheless, Leonard missed 19 of his 26 field goals (FGs) to get only 17 points and 11 rebounds. He only earned two free throws despite his apparent advantage in size and athleticism. Leonard also missed all four of his shots during the team's scoring drought at the end of the game.

George failed to snap out of his struggling performance since switching to play point guard. He only delivered two assists but committed three turnovers while going 6-for-16 to score only 16 points. He failed to reach 20 points in 14 of the 38 games he has played so far this season.

Other games on Thursday (away teams come first):

Los Angeles Lakers 112-111 Indiana Pacers

The Lakers overcame a 15-point deficit (67-52) and rallied 28-15 in the fourth quarter to secure their second win in a row at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Thursday. Anthony Davis and LeBron James combined to drop 57 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists. Russell Westbrook had a double-double of 10 points and 10 assists off the bench.

In his first game in nearly three weeks, Tyrese Haliburton scored a double-double of 26 points and 12 assists for the Pacers. His orchestrating also helped Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner reach 20+points in Thursday's game. However, none them was able to make consistent offensive contributions in the fourth quarter to save the team from suffering the fourth loss in a row.

Memphis Grizzlies 113-128 Cleveland Cavaliers

Darius Garland outperformed Ja Morant in Thursday's contest between two of the top point guards of the young generation at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Garland had a double-double of 32 points and 11 assists while going 11-for-19 in FGs for the Cavaliers. Morant got good numbers of 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, but he missed 11 of his 20 shots.

Donovan Mitchell of the Cavaliers and Dillon Brooks of the Grizzlies were ejected out after clashing with each other in the middle of the third quarter. Brooks fell to the ground after missing a layup. He hit Mitchell's left calf while he was rolling on the floor and then beat Mitchell in the groin. Mitchell threw the basketball at Brooks in response before the two got into a fight.

New Orleans Pelicans 106-111 Dallas Mavericks

Luka Doncic was injured again as he suffered a right heel contusion in the third quarter against the Pelicans at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday. Be fore he exited the game, he had 31 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in less then 23 minutes and a 27-point first-half lead for the Mavericks.

The Pelicans went as poorly as 5-for-20 behind the arc in the game. The team's rally in the second half was impressive as they made the best use of their advantage in size and athleticism. Nonetheless, their efforts were not good enough to avoid the 11th loss in a row.

Miami Heat 104-106 New York Knicks

Golden State Warriors 117-134 Denver Nuggets