WASHINGTON _ The Milwaukee Bucks' drought in the nation's capital is over.
The Bucks clicked on both ends down the stretch to earn a 110-103 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night at Capital One Arena, marking their first win in the District of Columbia since Dec. 6, 2013.
Giannis Antetokounmpo played a starring role, making three clutch buckets in the final three minutes as part of his 34-point effort _ his 28th straight game with 20-plus points.
Antetokounmpo, who played nearly all of the first 18 minutes of the second half, played a key role in Milwaukee keeping the game close. He moved to center and helped anchor the defense, which had struggled on the interior all night.
But with 6:18 remaining and the game tied, he drew his fifth foul on a pushoff and went to the bench for the first time in the half. The Wizards built a 99-96 lead before Bucks coach Jason Kidd called timeout to give his team a breather and get Antetokounmpo back into the game.
The Bucks, which had scuffled without their star on the court, scored on their final eight possessions after that. Eric Bledsoe hit three free throws, knocked down a 3 and scored a layup on the way to 21 points, Antetokounmpo made a layup and two jumpers and Khris Middleton, who had 20 points, made two free throws to seal the win.
The Bucks got off to a slow start, falling by quickly off the jump with the deficit growing as large as 11 points in the first quarter. They had no answer for Washington defensively as the Wizards moved the ball around for eight assists _ six by John Wall _ on 13 of 21 shooting (61.9 percent) during the opening frame.
Things didn't get much better for Milwaukee until the Bucks made a run late in the second quarter. That spurt was fueled by Bledsoe, who hit a pair of free throws, kicked out to Middleton for a 3-pointer then knocked down a jumper. Those plays kicked off a 14-4 half-closing run that brought the two teams into the half tied at 53.
From that point on, the game stayed tight as the two teams battled down the stretch. The intensity reached a crescendo when with the Bucks up two and 7:24 left, Bucks guard Matthew Dellavedova wrapped up Wizards guard Bradley Beal on a break, bringing him to the ground from a full-speed sprint.
Beal popped up and got in Dellavedova's face, shoving an official in the process. The play was reviewed and Dellavedova was assessed a flagrant-2 and ejected.
That set the stage for the final push, as both teams kicked things up a notch before the Bucks pulled away. Wall had 16 points and 16 assists in the loss.
