By ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 37 points and handed out 12 assists, and the Milwaukee Bucks wasted a 22-point second-half lead before beating the Miami Heat, 106-103, in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday night, Nov. 26.
Brook Lopez scored 13 points and Bobby Portis had 11 for the Bucks, who have won five in a row and moved back to the .500 mark — 9-9 — for the first time since they were 1-1.
The Bucks (3-0 in Cup play) also moved a half-game ahead of Detroit (2-0) in the East Group B standings.
Jimmy Butler scored 23 points for Miami, which got 18 from Tyler Herro, 17 from Terry Rozier and 16 from Bam Adebayo. The Heat tied the game at 96-96 on a layup by Butler and got within one point on three later occasions, but never led.
The Heat — who were outscored 60-30 from 3-point range — fell to 1-2 in Cup play.
The Bucks played without Giannis Antetokounmpo, a late pregame scratch because of swelling in his left knee.
Meanwhile in Minneapolis, Alperen Sengun had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, Fred VanVleet added 27 points and 11 assists, and the Houston Rockets pulled out a 117-111 overtime win against the Minnesota Timberwolves in an NBA Cup game.
Dillon Brooks added 22 points for Houston, which improved to 3-0 in the competition and clinched West Group A and a spot in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
Anthony Edwards had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which has lost three in a row. Julius Randle scored 21, while Naz Reid had 19 off the bench.
Rookie Rob Dillingham, the No. 8 pick in the draft out of Kentucky, had his best game of the season, helping to fill the void left by point guard Mike Conley, who missed his third straight game with a left great toe sprain. Dillingham had 12 points and season highs with seven assists and five rebounds.
In Washington, Nikola Vucevic scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls eased to a 127-108 victory over the struggling Wizards in an NBA Cup game.
Coby White scored 21 points and Zach Lavine had 18 for the Bulls, who pulled into a three-way tie at 2-1 with Boston and Atlanta and a half-game in front of Cleveland in East Group C.
Chicago allowed its second-fewest points and secured its largest margin of victory this season. The Bulls took the lead for good in the second quarter and kept it in double digits throughout the second half.
Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points for Washington, which lost its 12th straight and fell to 0-3 in the group and were eliminated from quarterfinal contention.
Rookie Alex Sarr tied a career high with 20 points and sank four 3-pointers for the Wizards, who sat starting point guard Jordan Poole for a second game with left hip soreness.
In Salt Lake City, Victor Wembanyama scored 34 points, rookie Stephon Castle matched a season high with 23 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 128-115 in an NBA Cup game.
The 7-foot-3 Wembanyama made six 3-pointers and shot 13 of 23 from the field. Julian Champagnie scored 15 points and made three 3s in the fourth quarter to help the Spurs pull away.
Utah’s Lauri Markkanen had to be helped from the court after banging knees with Wembanyama in the fourth quarter.
