Giannis Antetokounmpo has another triple-double as Bucks handle Wizards

The end of the regular season is in sight for the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks avoided a late-season slip-up by cruising to a 140-128 victory over the short-handed Washington Wizards on Tuesday at Capital One Arena in Washington.

Milwaukee (57-22) moved closer to clinching the No. 1 seeding in the Eastern Conference playoffs with three games remaining in the regular season. With the Boston Celtics losing to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Bucks' "magic number" was cut to one and Milwaukee can lock down the top spot on Wednesday.

BOX SCORE: Bucks 140, Wizards 128

"Every day is a work day," Bucks forward Bobby Portis said. "No days off.

"It's a blessing to be in the NBA. It's a blessing to put on a NBA jersey, to make a lot of money to take care of your fam."

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished off his sixth triple-double of the season with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Jrue Holiday fell just short of his own triple-double with 20 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

Bucks get hot from long distance in first half

With patchwork lineups for both teams, the flow of the game was a little uneven at the start.

The Bucks committed 10 turnovers in the first half, with five of them coming from Antetokounmpo.

Milwaukee pulled ahead for a 75-62 lead at the break thanks to a 42-point outburst in the second quarter.

The Bucks did most of their damage in the first half from beyond the arc, shooting 14 for 22 (63.6%).

Bobby Portis and Wes Matthews were red-hot off the bench, combining to hit all seven of their three-point attempts in the first half.

Portis had a double-double in the first half with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and he finished with 19 and 20 boards.

The Bucks made 23 three-pointers in the game.

"A lot of good play from up and down the roster," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "We shot it well. So the assists for Jrue and Giannis, credit to the shooters.

"I think the guys, for the most part, had a good focus and played and got an important win for us."

Jae Crowder makes his first start for Bucks

Jae Crowder, the former Marquette star acquired by the Bucks in a trade in February, made his first start for Milwaukee.

Crowder made his biggest splash coming out of the locker room for the second half, scoring the Bucks’ first 10 points of the third quarter.

Crowder finished with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting and added nine rebounds for his best performance with the Bucks.

"It was great for him," Budenholzer said. "I think that Giannis found him in kind of a semi-transition attack and then he saw that first one go in and guys kept looking for him. Kept finding him.

"And we needed a good start to the third quarter. These games you got to have a good focus and come out of halftime ready. I thought Jae did that for us."

The Bucks took their biggest lead in the third quarter at 96-72 when Antetokounmpo found Joe Ingles for a three-pointer.

Former UW star Johnny Davis sees action

The Wizards have been eliminated from playoff contention and, probably not a coincidence, sat rotation players Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma, Kristaps Porzingis, Monte Morris and Deni Avdja.

That opened the door for former Wisconsin star Johnny Davis to see extended minutes.

Davis, whose father Mark played for the Bucks for 31 games in the 1988-89 season, finished with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists.

"He's taking advantage of his opportunity to have the ball in his hands and be aggressive," Budenholzer said. "He was impressive."

Grayson Allen out until playoffs with right ankle injury

Bucks starting guard Grayson Allen left Sunday night's victory over the Philadelphia 76ers with a right ankle injury that looked pretty painful.

As expected, Allen was ruled out for Tuesday night's game at Washington, and Budenholzer said Allen won't be back in the lineup until the playoffs.

"There was a MRI," Budenholzer said before facing the Wizards. "We're hopeful that, given that we have a week of games now and a week of preparation waiting to see who comes out of the play-in tournaments, may coincide when he's available.

"So I think we just have to see how the first four, five, six, seven days - the first week - goes. How much we can then push him or how much he's able to do in the second week. And if everything kind of went perfect, I think there are scenarios when he could be available for the first game. But that's a lot between now and then and sometimes things go slower. Sometimes they go quicker."

Bucks forward Khris Middleton, who hasn't played in back-to-back games this season, was also ruled out of the game with right knee management with the team playing the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday at Fiserv Forum.

Five numbers

10 Players to see minutes for  the Bucks in the first half

7 Rebounds for Milwaukee forward Bobby Portis in the first quarter

5 minutes played by Pat Connaughton before leaving with a right ankle injury

20 Three-pointers made by the Bucks through three quarters

35 Career triple-doubles for Antetokounmpo

Play of the game is Giannis Antetokounmpo’s block on Kendrick Nunn

The Bucks were in control for most of the second half, but that didn’t stop Antetokounmpo from going all-out in the fourth quarter. After the Wizards’ Kendrick Nunn made a steal, he went in for a layup attempt but Antetokounmpo chased Nunn down and swatted the shot off the glass.

"His competitive spirit is the best," Budenholzer said. "Those plays require a lot of energy. A lot of competitiveness.

"A lot of guys, I think, don't go get that. Not his physical ability to go get it but the competitiveness and the willingness to go try. He's very special that way."

Video of the game is Johnny Davis’ dunk over Jrue Holiday

Davis has struggled as a rookie, mostly getting minutes in the G League, but he has shown flashes late in the season. Probably his biggest highlight came in the first quarter when Davis stole the ball, sprinted down the court and threw down a one-handed dunk while getting fouled by Holiday.

Bucks injury report

Grayson Allen (right ankle sprain), out

Jevon Carter (left foot laceration), out

Khris Middleton (right knee injury management), out

Meyers Leonard (left calf soreness), probable

Who do the Bucks play next?

Milwaukee finishes off its final set of back-to-back games in the regular season against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday at Fiserv Forum. The Bucks beat the Bulls, 112-100, in Chicago on Feb. 16 for the 12^th victory in what would be a 16-game winning streak.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokoumpo has sixth triple-double of season to beat Wizards