In their in-season tournament victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night, the Milwaukee Bucks prevailed 131–128 thanks to a 3-pointer by Brook Lopez with 2:40 remaining, matching a career-high 39 points.

Khris Middleton of Milwaukee left the game early in the third quarter due to soreness in his left Achilles. With surgery on his right knee over the summer, Middleton has been playing less minutes this season. In 13 minutes, he scored seven points and dished out five assists.

With 31 points apiece from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the Bucks moved up to 3-0 in the East Group B standings. The Bucks saw three players score at least 30 points in a single game for the first time in franchise history.

Due to a non-COVID ailment, Antetokounmpo’s status was lowered from probable to questionable on the injury report on Friday afternoon. Despite this, he managed to play 37 minutes and total 31 points, along with 9 rebounds. Lillard had seven rebounds and ten assists.

The Bucks conclude group plays on Tuesday away from Miami, who lost to the New York Knicks 100-98 on Friday to drop to 2-1 in group play.

For the Wizards, who have lost eight straight, Jordan Poole scored 26, Kyle Kuzma and Tyus Jones each had 22, and Corey Kispert added 20. In group play, the Wizards are 0–4.

At the buzzer, Kuzma attempted a potentially game-winning 3-point shot from midcourt, but it ricocheted against the back rim.

Lopez’s 3-pointer from the top of the key broke a 116-all tie and put the Bucks ahead for good in a game that saw 22 ties and 19 lead changes. With 1:16 remaining, Lillard made one of two free throws, giving the Bucks their largest lead of the game at 125-118.

With 16.9 seconds remaining, Kuzma made a corner 3-pointer to trim the lead to 127-126.

With 12 seconds remaining, Landry Shamet missed an open corner 3-pointer that would have knotted the game after Antetokounmpo hit two free throws to increase the advantage. With 4.2 seconds left, Kuzma made a driving layup to reduce the margin to one after Pat Connaughton missed two free throws.

The only other occasion Lopez scored forty-nine points was on April 6, 2011, when he was a member of the New Jersey Nets and the Detroit Pistons. The 7-footer scored 28 points on Wednesday in a 119-106 loss to Boston, marking his second-highest-scoring outing of the season.