Johnson leads Spurs past injury-riddled Bucks 111-93

Updated Nov. 11, 2022 10:43 p.m. ET

Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Keldon Johnson scored 29 points, and the San Antonio Spurs stopped a five-game skid by topping the banged-up Milwaukee Bucks 111-93 on Friday night.

Devin Vassell had 22 points in San Antonio's first win since Oct. 30. Jakob Poeltl added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Milwaukee played without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Kris Middleton, Pat Connaughton, Grayson Allen, Joe Ingles and A.J. Green due to health issues.

Jevon Carter scored 21 points for the Bucks, and Brook Lopez had 19. Bobby Portis finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

San Antonio was 12 for 31 on 3-pointers, including 5 for 8 by Johnson. The Spurs also shut out the Bucks’ fast break, holding a 21-0 advantage.

The Spurs outscored the Bucks 28-17 in the fourth. Johnson made a 3-pointer and a floating jumper to make it 101-83 with 4:39 left.

San Antonio dominated the paint early with Antetokounmpo sidelined for the second straight game with a sore left knee. In the first half, the Spurs had a 28-8 advantage in the paint and had nine blocks while the Bucks only had two.

TIP-INS

Bucks: Allen was listed in the starting lineup by the public address announcer prior to tipoff, but was scratched due to a non-COVID-19 illness. ... Holiday (sprained right ankle), Middleton (left wrist ligament surgery), Connaughton (strained right calf), Ingle (left knee ACL surgery) and Green (nasal fracture surgery) all sat out due to injury. ... G Justin Nwora made his first career start in place of Allen. ... Coach Mike Budenholzer and the Bucks were puzzled by a delay of game call that resulted in a technical foul with 2.5 seconds left in the opening quarter. A ball was bounced by an official following the second of George Hill’s free throws, but it did not appear intentional.

Spurs: Johnson has a 3-pointer in 29 straight games, the second-longest streak in franchise history behind Danny Green’s 32 straight in 2012. Chuck Person had 28 straight in 1996. ... F Jeremy Sochan dyed his hair pink to match the trim on the Spurs’ City Edition uniforms, which paid tribute to the franchise hosting the 1996 NBA All-Star Game at the Alamodome. ... Former Spurs F Paul Pressey was in attendance and honored by the team between the opening quarters as part of the team’s 50th anniversary celebration. Pressey played for San Antonio in 1990 and ’91 as part of his 11-year NBA career.

UP NEXT

Bucks: Host Atlanta on Monday.

Spurs: At Golden State on Monday.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports