Patty Mills’ 21 points helped Brooklyn escape a sticky situation in a nervy 109-99 defeat of Cleveland as the Australian favourite continued to make a difference at his new NBA club.

Starting for the second-straight game in place of the injured Joe Harris, Mills (six-of-12 three-pointers) salvaged an offensive rebound and flushed a crucial triple from long-range early in the fourth quarter.

That created some breathing space when the Cavaliers threatened to bridge a lead that had grown to 23 earlier in the night.

It was a much-needed settler a day after Golden State had comprehensively knocked off the Eastern Conference heavyweights, now 11-5, on their home court.

LaMarcus Aldridge (24 points, seven rebounds) also provided help for Kevin Durant (23 points) and James Harden (27 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists).

Spanish guard Ricky Rubio had 25 points and five assists for Cleveland (9-7), while Darius Garland paired 24 points with six rebounds. 

A 39 per cent three-pointer shooter across more than 700 NBA games, Mills is averaging 47.6 per cent from long range for the Nets.

It’s provided desperately sought offensive punch from the bench and also proved timely given Kyrie Irving remains banned from playing until he receives a COVID-19 vaccination.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 47 points and Khris Middleton tied Milwaukee’s franchise record for career three-pointers as the Bucks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 109-102.

Middleton returned after missing eight games due to COVID-19 and made consecutive three-pointers 30 seconds apart early in the fourth quarter to put the Bucks ahead for good.

The second of those threes was his 1,051st with the Bucks to match Ray Allen for first place on the team’s all-time list.

AAP

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