NBA highlights on March 1: Antetokounmpo trample on Bulls for Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 113-97 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Friday, extending their winning streak to five games.

The Bucks continued to win since the NBA All-Star break. Though it's still too early to say that the team was back on the right track, one for sure was that they have improved their defense. The team kept their opponents from reaching 100 points in their past four games. They were not very efficient themselves on the offensive end, but Giannis Antetokounmpo played in a comfortable rhythm as he could constantly charge the rim in transition after shutting down the opponents' attack.

The "Greek Freak" shot 16-for-22 from the field in Friday's game to drop court-high 46 points for the Bucks. He also grabbed 16 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, and delivered six assists. Not only did he dominate the paint as always, where he got 24 points, he also enjoyed a good shooting touch in jumpers, including going 2-for-3 from downtown. He made 12 of his 16 free throws as well.

Despite Antetokounmpo's individual dominance, the Bucks didn't build a superb lead in the first three quarters, mostly because the rest of the team struggled to make shots. Damian Lillard missed 14 of his 18 field goal (FG) attempts, including seven out of 10 shots behind the arc. Brook Lopez knocked down four triples, but he made no move at all within the 3-point line.

The under-performance of his teammates highlighted Patrick Beverley's good work in the fourth period. The 35-year-old local of Chicago shot 5-for-6 in FGs to contribute 14 points in this quarter alone. All of these points were scored in less than four minutes between 9:12 and 5:33, extending the Bucks' lead from 14 (90-76) to 21 points (105-84), which basically sealed the deal for the team.

The Bulls might have only themselves to blame for poor 3-point shooting performance of going 11-for-27, but their two aces, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, were indeed contained by the Bucks' aggressive defense. During most time on Friday night, DeRozan faced double-teaming as long as he had the ball within the 3-point line. Lopez and Bobby Portis both worked hard to keep Vucevic from going right, where he shot better, near the rim. Meanwhile, other Bucks never stopped trying to steal the ball from DeRozan or Vucevic.

As a result, the two combined to miss 18 of their 31 FG attempts to get only 29 points. DeRozan delivered nine assists, but it didn't hit the opponents where it hurt the most. Vucevic even lost his calmness after a verbal argument with Bobby Portis in the fourth quarter. He committed a hard foul on A.J. Green in the nest possession. It was ruled as a flagrant 2 foul that resulted in Vucevic's ejection.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Dallas Mavericks 110-138 Boston Celtics

The Celtics became the first team this season to secure 10 consecutive wins after walking over the Mavericks at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. They had seven players score double-digit points and drained all 21 of the team's 21 triples out of 40 attempts. Their dominance was not only on the offensive end. In the decisive fourth period, the Celtics limited the opponents to going 9-for-20 from the field and had four blocks.

Luka Doncic tasted the same pain of losing the game in spite of individual dominance in Friday's game. He got a triple-double of 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. He even grabbed three offensive rebounds. Nonetheless, the Mavericks fell apart in front of the Celtics' fierce attacks in the fourth quarter. Doncic had 112 points, 41 rebounds and 32 assists in the past three games, but his team lost two of them.

Sacramento Kings 124-120 Minnesota Timberwolves

The Kings lacked their franchise point guard De'Aaron Fox because of injury in Friday's game at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The other ace of theirs, Domantas Sabonis, was fouled out in overtime (OT). However, Malik Monk took the team to victory with 39 points, including 24 in the fourth period and the OT.

The Timberwolves saw their lead continue to shrink in the Western Conference after the home loss. Though Anthony Edwards exited the game after the first half for personal reasons, they still had the size advantage in Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reed, not to mention that Jaden McDaniels shot to kill from the field by making nine of his 11 attempts.

Nonetheless, the Timberwolves wasted their size advantage as they trailed in both total rebounds (45-44) and on the offensive glass (14-8). The team made only one shot out of seven attempts in the OT, and it was the only shot taken bay McDaniels during that period of time.

Cleveland Cavaliers 110-100 Detroit Pistons

Charlotte Hornets 114-121 Philadelphia 76ers

Golden State Warriors 120-105 Toronto Raptors

Portland Trail Blazers 122-92 Memphis Grizzlies

Indiana Pacers 102-129 New Orleans Pelicans

Washington Wizards 115-140 Los Angeles Lakers