Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo reeled off 41 points, 20 rebounds and six assists -- in just 35 minutes -- in Sunday's 93-85 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

It was the fewest minutes played in a 40-20-5 game in NBA history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The previous low was 36 minutes by Bob Pettit in 1959 and Elgin Baylor in 1960.

The reigning MVP became the first Bucks player with a 40-20-5 stat line since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in March 1974, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He is also only the third player over the past 30 seasons to post those numbers, joining DeMarcus Cousins (twice) and Chris Webber.

Antetokounmpo (25 years, 86 days) is the youngest player with a 40-point, 20-rebound, 5-assist game since Charles Barkley did so on Jan. 30, 1987, at 23 years, 344 days old. It was the first 40-20 game in Antetokounmpo's career.

Antetokounmpo scored in almost every way imaginable -- on pick-and-rolls, fast-break dunks, fadeaway jumpers and from the foul line.

With six minutes left and the Bucks leading by one, Antetokounmpo drove down the middle of the lane, did a spin move to shake Bismack Biyombo and dunked in between two defenders, drawing a foul for a three-point play.

And in a game that was close throughout, Milwaukee's superstar scored the Bucks' final seven points to put it away.

The 6-foot-11 forward hit a turnaround baseline jumper over Miles Bridges and then grabbed an offensive rebound on the next possession and was fouled, converting both free throws to push the lead to seven. Then he scored on a driving layup with 1:09 left, sending the majority of the crowd streaming to the exits.

It was the Bucks' sixth straight win. The Hornets were able to end one Milwaukee streak, however. The last time the Bucks were held under 100 points in a win was on Feb. 21, 2019, when they beat the Boston Celtics 98-97.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

The Houston Astros' Lance McCullers on Sunday pitched in a major league game for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018.

The right-hander pitched two-thirds of an inning and didn't allow a run against the St. Louis Cardinals in West Palm Beach, Florida.

He retired Kolten Wong on a ground out to begin the game, allowed a double by Paul DeJong and struck out Paul Goldschmidt. McCullers threw 16 pitches, 10 for strikes.

McCullers last pitched in Game 4 of the 2018 American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox.

He has said he is using spring training as a de facto rehab assignment and is slated to be the Astros' No. 3. starter behind Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke.

The 26-year-old McCullers, an All-Star in 2017, is 29-22 in his major league career.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It was just a batting practice session, one of the lowest spring training rungs in a pitcher's preparation for opening day. But for Chris Sale, it was progress.

Even after finishing with a fastball that a Triple-A prospect who batted .204 last year managed to hit over the fence Sunday morning, Sale and the Red Sox were pleased.

"Let's end on that one," Sale said, laughing, as he walked off the mound.

Pitching coach Dave Bush was satisfied.

"I thought he looked good," Bush said. "It was an important step in progression through the spring. It was a full pregame routine with long toss and time in the bullpen and then 15 pitches on the mound. So, it was a normal step for him. He felt pretty good and I thought it looked pretty good."

Sale last faced hitters on Aug. 13, when he gave up five runs with 12 strikeouts over 6⅔ innings in a win at Cleveland. The left-hander was put on the injured list after that with elbow inflammation, ending his season at 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA in 25 starts.

Sale will start this season on the IL after reporting to camp with pneumonia, setting him back by about two weeks. He did not speak to reporters after pitching batting practice.

A month shy of turning 31, Sale was an All-Star seven straight years and got the final out of the 2018 World Series. That was all before last season's struggles.

Sale's outing came on a back field at Boston's complex. He threw about 18 pitches in what was planned as a 15-pitch session to a pair of Red Sox minor leaguers, right-handed hitting Jantzen Witte and left-handed batting Josh Ockimey. They got two at-bats, with Ockimey ended the season by pulling Sale's fastball deep to right field.

"Yes, knowing that he's behind schedule because of him being sick," Bush said. "Otherwise, he's right in line with where I'd expect him to be and where most other pitchers were at this time."

Manager Ron Roenicke joked the day before that he was having a hard time finding volunteers to bat against Sale.

"I remember facing him, I think in [spring training] 2017," said Ockimey, who hit 25 home runs for Triple-A Pawtucket last season. "It was my first live arm actually that year, and I kind of remember how it was. I had to make sure my ankles were right, but, yeah, it was definitely fun facing him this time around."

"He looked really good, really good. His fastball was definitely coming in there. I knew I wouldn't have a chance to hit the slider. But yeah, everything still looked really good," he said.

New Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki was behind the plate for Sale's session.

"I've been looking forward to catching him ever since I signed here, so it's good to get back there and see him first-hand and everything looked really good," Plawecki said.

"It's the first time I've caught him so it's hard for me to kind of go off anything else besides facing him as a hitter. So everything looked good to me, coming in good, slider looked great, changeup looked good, good life to his fastball. So, all in all, I think it went pretty well," he said. "It's still got that funk to it, but it's a lot easier when I know what's coming rather than facing it."

Depending upon how he responds to his initial outing, Sale is expected to progress to a two-inning batting practice session on Thursday, throwing a total of about 30 pitches, and go on a normal five-day schedule after that.

Sale is entering the first year of a five-year, $145 million contract he signed in spring training last year. This will be his third stint on the IL since Boston acquired him before the 2017 season.

Sale also missed about a month near the end of the 2018 season before returning to help the team win the World Series that year.

The Red Sox are confident Sale is over the elbow issues that limited him last season.

"So with Chris it's just building up to where we feel comfortable in him and getting him through the year, keeping him strong, hopefully September and hopefully into October," Roenicke said.

With two spots currently open in the rotation, the Red Sox are anxious to get Sale back as soon as possible, and back to the form that helped him to finish second and fourth in AL Cy Young voting in his first two seasons in Boston.

"So far, he's already shown that," Bush said. "He feels healthy. All the issues he had last year are behind him at this point. So, the buildup is the same as it would be for any other pitcher and that's the most important thing is that he is on track and on time, other than being delayed for being sick. His progression is on track and on time with where I'd expect it to be."

"So, that will allow him, when he's ready, to go into the season without any restrictions and he can pitch and be the guy that he wants to be."

What Major League Baseball wants is for its product to move and flow in a way that attracts new generations of fans, many of whom now treat any hint of boredom with a touch of the next app, moving on to the next thing.

This concern was the motivating factor behind the three-batter minimum rule that has been implemented for 2020: Any reliever called into a game must face at least three batters, or pitch through the end of the inning, with exceptions made for injury or illness.

In recent seasons, the pace of a lot of games slowed dramatically -- think of a speeding dune buggy sinking into a mud bog -- once managers turned to their bullpen for successive pitching changes. The hope in the commissioner's office is that the three-batter minimum will keep the game moving, and perhaps foster more offense.

As managers, pitching coaches and front-office types try to figure out the impact of the new rule and the best ways to turn it into a strategic advantage, it remains unpopular in some corners.

In his latest blog post, AW’s Euan Crumley writes about running through the rotten weather as London Marathon preparations continue

“You’re keen!” hollered the incredulous dog walker as the howling wind and lashing rain forced him to raise his voice as I ran past, travelling in the opposite direction.

“If only you knew,” I thought to myself as I politely laughed, almost apologetically, in reply. In truth, he had caught me in the early stages of a long run and a point at which I was not only questioning my sanity for having stepped out of the door and into the latest storm but also pining for the simple pleasures of a hot cup of coffee and a comfortable chair. I was about as far removed from keen as it was possible to be at that stage.

The run in question happened a couple of weeks ago and it doesn’t feel like the going has become any easier since thanks to the challenging weather. Britain has been – and continues to be – battered by the elements and, though I have trained through plenty of bad winters before, this one has felt particularly testing. I’d like to think of myself as a “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes” kind of person but I have to admit that the relentlessness nature of things recently has been getting under my skin.

My mood hasn’t been helped by the flooding of a couple of my tried and tested running routes, while a dose of the lurgy brought on by extended exposure to the wet and cold conditions meant an enforced break in marathon training and an increase in grumpiness.

Thankfully, however, a sense of perspective has been quick to kick in. Having to alter a few sessions is hardly a great inconvenience when compared with those who are having to contend with flood waters lapping at their front doors or seeing livelihoods threatened by the extreme conditions.

In terms of marathon training, it’s a chance to improvise, to be creative and to think a bit more about how to achieve the desired outcome from each session, even when the environment could best be described as “suboptimal”. It feels like there is little chance of making any marginal gains, for example, when your sopping wet kit weighs a ton as you squelch your way down the road. You know it’s wet when the washing powder suds start to form on your leggings.

The current climate also presents the chance to test my mental and physical powers of resilience and build a body of preparation work that will hopefully come in handy when it comes to race day itself. Yes, it’s a cliche but it’s in the darkness of winter where the platform of work is built for you to be able run well in the spring sunshine. That’s the theory anyway and, if working through this helps me to then get through the closing miles on the streets of London in April, then more’s the better.

Also, the dog walker was right. The past few weeks may have been less than perfect for training, but I AM keen. I’m still managing to clock up the miles and, not long after that mid-run meeting, the wind eased briefly, the clouds parted for just a moment and a shaft of sunlight broke through. Coincidentally, my pace picked up, stride lengthened and the smile on my face widened as I was able to enjoy that all too fleeting feeling of being able to run well without really trying.

Of course, a couple of hundred yards later I turned a corner and was pelted in the face with sideways hail, but even that moment of good form was enough of a reminder as to why I was out there. Though there have been times when I have found myself, quite literally, howling into the wind and swearing at myself for the self-inflicted folly, I am still managing to enjoy it all, too.

Have you been able to keep going through the horrible weather? Let me know how your training is going and how you are managing to beat the elements.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Indoor Auto Racing Series Championship Series fueled by VP Racing Fuels championships will be determined on March 13-14 inside the New York State Exposition Center.

While much of the Syracuse weekend revolves around the torrid point championship chases, the entry of New Englander Mike Christopher Jr., who will be making his first start in a TQ Midget, is noteworthy.

Christopher will race a team car to Scott Kreutter, which was built by Buffalo, NY’s Trey Hoddick.  Christopher’s uncle, the late Ted Christopher, won eight Indoor series feature events and two Series championships. Ted Christopher, who the championship Cup for the TQs is now named, was driving for Hoddick before his death in a plane crash in September of 2017.

The race for the BELFOR Concrete Series TQ championship has become essentially a four driver race with the two features in Syracuse remaining.

Andy Jankowiak, the Atlantic City race winner the last two years, leads the standings with 256 points. Matt Janisch, who has been consistent in the first three races but hasn’t won, is two points behind Jankowiak – a virtual dead heat.

Erick Rudolph, a four time series champion, lurks 14 points behind the leader. Rudolph, the 2019 DIRTcar 358 Modified champion, won one of the two races in January held in Allentown, Pa. Tim Buckwalter, a teammate of Rudolph, sits fourth, 21 points off the pace.

The point award differential between finishing first and second is 10 points. The spread between first and last in a feature is 83 markers. With a complete show including a 40 lap feature both nights in Syracuse, one bad night by any of the front runners could torpedo their bid for the title.

Rudolph came into the 2019 inaugural running of the Syracuse event in a battle with Justin Bonsignore and others for the championship. Bonsignore, the 2018 champion, appeared to have the upper hand after winning on Friday’s inaugural event in the new building, but this hopes dissipated after he crashed on Saturday night.

The large point spread and two complete shows in Syracuse could open the door for teenage sensation Briggs Danner, who is 36 points out of the point lead. Anthony Payne, who rides 44 behind the lead and Ryan Bartlett, who is 66 points out of the lead, also have a chance at the title should the leaders struggle.

The points chase in both the Slingshot and Champ Kart classes are more sharply defined.

Scott Neary is atop the leaderboard with a 35 point margin over Brett Bieber and Cody Kline.

Kurt Bettler, winless in the four Slingshot races in 2019, outpointed Danny Buccafusca to win the title. An even dozen Slingshot hopefuls came into the finale with a mathematical chance to win the coveted title.

Tyler Brown has a 44 point bulge on Todd Crenshaw and a 54 point margin over Ron Midford Jr. in the Champ Kart division. Brown, the hired gun of Jason Simmons’ multi-car race team out of Fulton, N.Y., won the Saturday night event in Syracuse last year. Brown has previously won Indoor Series events in the Times Union Center in 2012 and this year in Allentown, Pa., to start the season.

Six Champ Kart competitors were in contention for the Series crown last season with Brandon Rucszek winning the laurels ahead of Ryan Kendall and J.J. Pacovich.