Eastern Conference Recap, Dec. 28: Giannis Antetokounmpo and DeMar DeRozan’s Overtime Battle Ends in Chicago Bulls Win

The Milwaukee Bucks are slowly moving down the Eastern Conference standings after four consecutive losses.

The latest came in overtime against the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night. The Bucks were without Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, leaving Giannis Antetokounmpo to put up an MVP-level performance. He finished with 45 points, 22 rebounds and seven assists.

Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan countered with 42 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. After being No. 1 in Conference standings, Milwaukee is now just a half game ahead of the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers.

OTHER NOTES

-The Bradley Beal-less Washington Wizards handed a crushing defeat to the Phoenix Suns. The Wizards got key contributions from Kristaps Porzingis, Kyle Kuzma and Rui Hachimura. This was the Suns’ second straight game without star Devin Booker, who will be sidelined for at least a month with a groin injury.

-The Nets hold on against the Atlanta Hawks to win their 10th straight. Atlanta was without star guard Trae Young, leaving the scoring to John Collins and Dejounte Murray. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving combined for 54 points, which totaled to 50 percent of Brooklyn’s offense. After a drama-filled start, Irving is back to his elite form.

-The Detroit Pistons won their ninth game of the season with a 121-101 victory against the Orlando Magic. Alec Burks and Saddiq Bey combined for 60 points off Detroit’s bench. This game was more prominent for Pistons guard Killian Hayes’ sideline altercation with Magic forward Moe Wagner. Hayes appeared to knock Wagner out after punching him in the back of the head.

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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.