NEWS » kle suffered in Clevelands ALCS celebration. I

MILWAUKEE -- It was the Giannis and Jabari show Thursday night for the Milwaukee Bucks.Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points and Parker added 28 in leading Milwaukee to a 108-97 victory over the Chicago Bulls.Milwaukee led the entire game and held a 24-point advantage early in the fourth quarter but had to hold on to snap a three-game losing streak, its longest of the season.Antetokounmpo has totaled 88 points and 35 rebounds in his last three games, and Parker has reached at least 27 points in four of his past five.If were just being judged on points, then theyre playing really well, Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. But its not all about points. Unfortunately, thats all you guys write about. Its a team game, but it comes down to winning and doing your job. Both of those guys did their jobs tonight.Chicago lost for the fifth time in seven games and dropped its third straight on the road despite 21 points from Jimmy Butler and 20 from Dwyane Wade. The Bulls also got 19 points from Taj Gibson in the opener of a home-and-home between the teams on back-to-back nights.The Bucks went up 95-71 on a dunk by Antetokounmpo with 10:01 remaining. Chicago cut the deficit in half by scoring the next 12 points, with 10 of them coming from Wade. His two free throws trimmed the margin to 95-83 with 7:14 to go.Milwaukee led by at least eight the rest of the way, marking just the second time this season the Bucks never trailed in a game.I think everybody did a great job keeping the lead, Antetokounmpo said. Its hard to keep a lead for 24 minutes, for a half. Its hard sometimes.The Bucks biggest lead of the night was 27 on a dunk by Tony Snell that made it 58-31 with 3:40 left in the second quarter.The advantage was 64-45 at halftime, as Antetokounmpo (20), Parker (17) and Mirza Teletovic (10) combined to outscore Chicago by two points.Milwaukee shot 80 percent (8 for 10) from 3-point range while Chicago was 1 for 9 (11.1 percent) from beyond the arc in the first two quarters.They were too comfortable early, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. We didnt want to give them dare shots, we wanted to keep them out of the paint, and they were hitting them.TIP-INSBulls: Rajan Rondo returned to the starting lineup after missing Tuesdays game against Minnesota because of a right ankle sprain. ... Butler has 79 points in his last three games and has scored at least 20 in 18 of his last 19 outings. ... Chicago lost at Milwaukee for just the fifth time in the last 15 games.Bucks: There was a moment of silence following the death of longtime TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager, and Milwaukee players wore Sager Strong T-shirts during pregame warmups that resembled the outfit he wore at the recent ESPYs. Even mascot Bango donned a funky blue sport coat and plaid pants in Sagers honor. ... Michael Beasley missed his first game of the season with a left foot sprain.STRONG DIVISIONMilwaukee improved to 12-12, making the Central Division the only one in the NBA with every team at .500 or better.LETS PLAY TWONot only does Milwaukee play Chicago on consecutive nights, the Bucks also play back-to-back games against Cleveland on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then against Washington on Dec. 23 and Dec. 26. Scouting reports are easy, quipped Kidd.TRADE TALKMilwaukee traded Michael Carter-Williams to Chicago for Tony Snell on Oct. 17. Carter-Williams has missed the last 22 games for the Bulls with knee and wrist injuries, while Snell has started all but two games for the Bucks.UP NEXTBulls: Begin a three-game homestand Friday night against Milwaukee.Bucks: Play at Chicago on Friday.Nick Foles Womens Jersey . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. Quincy Williams II Jaguars Jersey . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner. http://www.authenticjaguarslockroom.com/Customized/ . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Quincy Williams II Youth Jersey . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. Taven Bryan Jaguars Jersey . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said.CLEVELAND -- Jason Kipnis was raised on Chicagos North Side, and like so many other kids, he grew up idolizing Ryne Sandberg, watching Sammy Sosa smash home runs and listening to Harry Caray.He bled Cubs blue.And he never once blamed Steve Bartman -- they went to the same high school, by the way.We have a joke, the Indians second baseman said, referring to the infamous fan vilified in Chicago for a failed attempt to catch a postseason foul ball. The only thing Im mad at Bartman for is missing an easy flyball.Kipnis wishes those Chicago fans who havent been able to let go would finally forgive Bartman and turn an ugly moment into something special.I would love to see him throw out a first pitch, he said. Everyone would go nuts.Kipnis was in high school when Bartman, innocently sitting in a front-row seat down the left-field field lane, became an unintentional celebrity in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series in 2003. The slight man, wearing a Cubs cap and headphones so he could listen to the game on the radio, reached out and tried to catch a foul ball in the eighth inning as Cubs outfielder Moises Alou tried to close in.The Cubs were derailed during the Bartman Game, blowing a big lead and losing, and then dropping Game 7 to the eventual world champion Marlins.Kipnis lived close to Bartman and very vividly remembers seeing police staked out around his house to prevent any zealous fans from getting at him. There are Cubs fans to this day who hold a grudge toward Bartman. He has remained in hiding.He didnt deserve that, Kipnis said. He never asked for all the stuff that probably happened to him afterward. I dont think he deserved any of that. He was probably actually a pretty loyal fan and he wanted a ball, and its just the way events turns that turned him into this scapegoat.The likelihood that he would return to throw out a first ball or anything like that is probably slim, none and no chance, Frank Murtha, a longtime friend and spokesman for Bartman, told CNN Saturday.Kipnis now finds himself in a unique situation in his first World Series, facing the team that helped shape his life. The Cubs are in his DNA. Theyre the team he learned to love, the one that taught him the game and the one that often broke his heart. But while Kipnis family and friends intend to remain true to their Cuubbies over the next week, his loyalties are not divided.ddddddddddddheres zero conflict at all, he said Tuesday on the eve of Game 1. Lets be clear about that.Kipnis, though, said watching the Cubs wrap up their first NL pennant since 1945 on TV was emotional. Some of his friends were at Wrigley Field on Saturday night, and when the last out was recorded, part of Kipnis was there, too.I didnt know how to handle it, he said. I didnt know if I was happy, mad, sad. I was emotional. I was choked up, I was like, Oh, no, what does this mean right now? But its nothing more than excitement for the games.He was 11 in that magical summer of 1998 when Sosa and Mark McGwire seemed to belt a home run in every at-bat. Baseball was bulked up and booming and Kipnis was under its spell.As he reminisced during an interview session, the two-time All-Star seemed to remember every swing.Thats when I was really watching baseball closely and turning into a baseball fan, said Kipnis, who is dealing with a sprained left ankle suffered in Clevelands ALCS celebration. In the 98 season, it was Hey, Sammys up, get to a TV every time. And on WGN there were always recaps of the games. Thats pretty much what I grew up on.Despite his Second City roots, Kipnis knows hell be treated like a complete stranger -- and sworn enemy -- when the Series shifts to Wrigley for Game 3. Hes taking solace that there will be a few welcomed faces in the crowd.But the Friendly Confines wont be very friendly.He wouldnt have it any other way.If theyre Cubs fans, theyll boo as they should if youre a baseball fan, he said. But Ill have enough there that youll hopefully hear a couple cheers.Kipnis knows what a championship would mean to fans for both teams, who have gone a combined 174 seasons without celebrating a World Series title.They have the only drought that could make our drought look small, he said. Theyve got us by 40 years. Both franchises have been yearning for this championship, but its pretty neat one of them will come to an end.And Kipnis isnt torn over which one he hopes continues.Theres not one part of me that doesnt wish this curse would keep going, he said.The Associated Press contributed to this report.? ' ' '