South Australia 0 for 26 trail Tasmania 254 (Milenko 100) by 228 runs

Simon Milenko scored a brilliant maiden first-class hundred as he hauled Tasmania up to 254 on the opening day against South Australia.

Milenko, who came in at No. 7, hit 100 of the 133 runs made while he was at the crease as first Lawrence Neil-Smith then Gabe Bell hung around with him. He was on 95 when Bell edged to slip, but No. 11 Riley Meredith survived long enough for him to reach three figures before he dragged on against Will Bosisto's second ball of the innings.

Until Milenko's display it was a story of Tasmania's top order wasting starts against some probing bowling from South Australia who had suffered further Shield heartache in the previous match against Western Australia when they lost with eight balls remaining.

Joe Mennie claimed the first three wickets to fall - starting with Jordan Silk who was given lbw padding up after waiting an age for the umpire's decision - then Chadd Sayers trapped George Bailey lbw in what will be his final first-class match before becoming an Australian selector after the BBL.

Jake Doran and Ben McDermott both fell to Wes Agar to leave Tasmania 6 for 150 and seemingly struggling to reach 200.

However, Milenko took charge although it was only after reaching his half-century - which he brought up with a six off Agar - that he changed gears as his second fifty took just 33 deliveries.

Left with 12 overs to face before stumps, Jake Weatherald and Henry Hunt made it through without loss.

Fawad Alam is back in Pakistan's Test squad after more than a decade out of the red-ball team. The left-hand middle-order batsman is part of the 16-member squad that will face Sri Lanka in two Tests in Rawalpindi and Karachi later this month.

Fawad replaces Iftikhar Ahmed, who only managed 44 runs in four innings on the recent tour of Australia. The only other change in the squad was the entry of left-arm quick Usman Shinwari, who has played 17 ODIs and 16 T20Is but is yet to make his Test debut, in place of the 19-year-old Muhammad Musa, who went wicketless in his Test debut in Adelaide.

Naseem Shah, the 16-year-old paceman who played in Brisbane before giving way to Musa, kept his place in the Test squad. The 16-year-old fast bowler has also been named in Pakistan's squad for the Under-19 World Cup, which begins on January 17 in South Africa. He will miss the initial part of the Under-19 squad's preparatory camp in Lahore, and join his team-mates at the end of the Test series.

Kashif Bhatti, the uncapped 33-year-old left-arm spinner who was part of the squad in Australia but didn't get a game, also remained in the squad.

Fawad, 34, began his Test career in November 2009 in Colombo, scoring a second-innings century on debut. He has only played two more Tests since then, however, despite being one of the most prolific scorers, season after season, in Pakistan's domestic cricket. He has also played 38 ODIs and 24 T20Is. His last international appearance was an ODI against Bangladesh in April 2015.

But his runs in the domestic circuit have kept his cause alive. And, in the lead-up to this selection, he made himself almost impossible to ignore: in his last six games for Sindh in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, he's made scores of 92, 1, 29*, 107, 0, 65, 211 and 116.

More to follow...

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Nearly two decades after they met at a USA Basketball camp, LeBron James, playing for his third NBA team, and Carmelo Anthony, playing for his fifth, matched up once again in the Los Angeles Lakers' 136-113 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.

James got the better of Anthony, putting up 31 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds to the Blazers star's 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.

"It's always special," James, 34, said of facing Anthony, 35, in 2019 after they first connected as teenagers. "I can't even lie, it's always special to be on the floor with a brother of mine."

James and Anthony averaged an identical 24 points per game at the 2001 USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs. James' team won the tournament, providing a precursor to the success he'd have over Anthony during their pro careers, with James' teams making nine NBA Finals appearances and winning three championships while Anthony's teams never advanced past the conference finals.

The two paired up in countless All-Star games and won two Olympic gold medals together in Beijing and London (as well as a bronze in Athens), as their careers stayed interwoven from the moment they were selected with two of the top three picks in the 2003 draft.

"We got so much history," James said. "We've been competing for a long time, we've been on the same team with the Olympics and then just our brotherhood. That's my brother, man. It's always great to be able to compete and just be on the same floor -- period. No matter if it's, like I said, with Team USA, when we're teammates or just competing on our respective clubs."

With the win, James improved to 20-14 in their head-to-head battles in the regular season. In those games, James is averaging 25.9 points, 7.5 assists and 7.0 rebounds, and Anthony is averaging 22 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

"It was good," Anthony said of Friday's reunion. "It's always fun going against him, playing against him in Year 17 for both of us. Being able to compete against one another at this level, and in now our 17th year, you can't ask for more than that."

James shot 2-of-3 for four points with Anthony as his primary defender in the half court on Friday, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. When the matchup was flipped, Anthony went 0-for-2.

Not that either of them will focus on the stats from the game. Anthony told ESPN that the pair caught up over dinner Thursday, and basketball was hardly the focus of the conversation.

Anthony said that he values James' friendship, but after he was released by the Houston Rockets after 10 games last season, there was plenty on his mind besides imagining what transpired Friday and taking the court with James again.

"I seriously didn't think about basketball, to be honest with you," Anthony said. "It was kind of hard to think about basketball and going up against guys and things like that. It was kind of hard to."

James and the 20-3 Lakers will move on from Friday, continuing their pursuit of a championship, while Anthony and the 9-14 Blazers have more modest immediate goals of getting back on the right side of .500.

But for a night, at least, the pair got to turn back the clock and fall back into the matchup that has entertained basketball fans for years.

Said Lakers coach Frank Vogel: "It's always good to see guys that have had such decorated careers that came into the league together, that have become friends, have an opportunity to compete for a game that matters."

Mental health has become a major talking point in cricket of late, with more and more prominent players opening up on the subject. Brian Lara, still the holder of the highest individual score in Test and first-class cricket, is among many to welcome the discussions on the subject, calling mental-health issues "real", and a "part of all sport", which "is coming to the fore now with a lot more aggression".

Lara is one of the greats of the game, and his 400 not-out against England in a Test in 2004 and 501 not out in a County Championship game in 1994 remain the top batting efforts in the longer formats of the game. To most outsiders, he was as close to infallible as could be during that period, but Lara, speaking at a charity golf event in Mumbai on Friday, revealed that it was far from smooth sailing for him.

"... From the beginning of my international career in 1989 to about 1995, it was on an upward spiral. I don't think a lot of people will appreciate (but) from 1995-98, it was on a downward spiral," he was quoted as saying by PTI. "I felt the pressures of being a double world-record holder, (it) played its part and the West Indies team was on its decline.

"I remember on occasions where I lay in my room feeling the despair. It [mental health issue] is real, it is part of all sport and it is coming to the fore now with a lot more aggression. Players are at least standing up and saying 'I need to just remove myself, fight myself and come back again'."

"I believe records are meant to be broken, even David Warner may have a next chance. He is an attacking player, who can put your team in a winning position"

Rachel Trenaman, the Sydney Thunder and New South Wales allrounder, became the latest to ask for time off from the game to focus on her mental health. In just the past few months, England's Sarah Taylor has retired from the sport at just 30 years of age, and Australians Glenn Maxwell, Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson all took breaks to address their problems before returning to action.

"... The kind of pressures the players are in now, may be before in the 70s and 80s, you played for the love of the game, you played for your country, you loved Test cricket," Lara said. "With all franchise cricket going on around in the world, the intensity of the game, sometimes is a burden. Guys are playing for England and not playing county cricket, guys are playing for Australia and not playing Sheffield cricket (and) that just tells you how mentally draining it is.

"[It's] something that we should stand up and pay attention to."

Lara's 400 not-out was under threat just the other day when David Warner hit 335 not-out in just 554 minutes in a Test against Pakistan in Adelaide. There was a lot of time left in the game but with the weather forecast being a bit iffy, Australia decided to declare at that point - Warner had just gone past the 334-run mark of Don Bradman and Mark Taylor - to press for victory. Tim Paine, the Australia captain, has had to answer questions about the declaration since, the argument being that there might have been time for Warner to chase Lara's record and for Australia to win - victory was achieved well inside four days in the end.

"I felt that David Warner should have been given an opportunity to go for it," Lara said. "I happened to be in Adelaide and I thought it was kind of destiny being there. We do understand, obviously any team, who have forced themselves to a very good position would want to get (give) the opposition a chance (to bat) the second, evening.

"I believe records are meant to be broken, even David Warner may have a next chance. He is an attacking player, who can put your team in a winning position."

Brisbane Heat 6 for 166 (Green 46, G Harris 43, Jonassen 38, Strano 4-28) beat Melbourne Renegades 4 for 163 (Dooley 50*, Duffin 44) by four wickets

Defending champions Brisbane Heat surged into the WBBL final, where they will face Adelaide Strikers on home soil, with a powerful batting performance as they comfortably chased down 164 to leave the Melbourne Renegades with a semi-final exit for the second season running.

Grace Harris put on a display of strong striking as the Heat reached their target with 12 balls to spare, the margin looking a little closer due to a late flurry of wickets, after they had been given the ideal platform by Maddy Green. Offspinner Molly Strano took four wickets, including two in two balls, but the Renegades couldn't find a way to break the Grace Harris-Jess Jonassen partnership when they still had runs to play with.

With the bat, the Renegades top order had produced a solid display, but ultimately, being 2 for 60 after ten overs meant their acceleration still wasn't enough. Josie Dooley hit a maiden WBBL fifty, while Jess Duffin signed off her outstanding tournament with another display of clean striking. Georgia Wareham gave the innings a strong finish with 22 off eight balls but she was one of the bowlers to feel the full force of the Heat's striking later on.

Atapattu's frustration

Chamari Atapattu was a handy player for the Renegades to call up following the loss of Danni Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont to England duty. She impressed when the Sri Lankans toured earlier in the season, hitting centuries in both the T20I and ODI series, but has had to slot into the team cold. She started with a first-ball duck in the last qualifying match and in this innings was starved of the strike early on, facing just nine balls in the powerplay, although she was able to launch the last of those for six over the leg side. She fell in the ninth over, but replays showed the lbw decision against Amelia Kerr was a rough one with the ball spinning to miss the stumps.

Duffin gets reprieved (more than once)

Duffin's form has provided one of the stories of this year's competition as she carried the Renegades into the knockouts. However, in this innings she benefited from a significant stroke of fortune before she had scored: facing Jonassen, a delivery slid into the front pad and struck her in front but it was given not out. Hawk-Eye had it hitting middle stump. It took her eight balls to get off the mark as the Heat squeezed, but being in such rich form, Duffin was able to catch up and in the 15th over went above a run-a-ball with two boundaries off Kerr. Then came more fortune when, on 29, she heaved a full toss to deep square-leg but Kerr couldn't hold on, and in the next over, Grace Harris couldn't grab a sharp return catch.

Green helps win the powerplay

Chasing a sizeable total, the powerplay was vital to the Heat and they comfortably came out on top with none for 51 from the six overs. Green dominated the scoring with 30 of those runs off 21 balls, collecting all four boundaries that were struck, while Beth Mooney ticked over. The Renegades didn't help themselves, however, with a sloppy display. There were four byes when a delivery from Lea Tahuhu swung back to beat Mooney, Wareham gifted a boundary when her throw at the stumps was well wide and not backed up, and Green was given a life when Dooley missed a tough chance behind the stumps.

Jonassen and Grace Harris break the chase

For a moment, it appeared that Strano, the leading wicket-taker in WBBL history, had turned the game when she removed Green and Mooney with consecutive deliveries in the eighth over to halt the Heat's excellent start. However, the defending champions have the most intimidating batting order in the tournament and showed it in their response to the double setback.

Jonassen immediately put the pressure back on the Renegades with a brace of boundaries off Wareham. Grace Harris, one of the hardest hitters in the game, helped take 16 off the 12th over when Atapattu was introduced as the game swung firmly back the Heat's way. When the next over from Carly Leeson was taken for 15, the required was under a run-a-ball. They could have eased home, but the finish became rather messy as they tried to blast over the line. Jonassen was yorked by Strano, then Laura Harris played an ambitions reverse slog, before Erica Kershaw claimed her first WBBL wicket with her part-time legspin. Before that, Kershaw had Grace Harris caught at deep midwicket off a big full toss that was called no-ball, but the batter couldn't complete the job when she found long-on. In the end, though, that all came too late for the Renegades in another near miss.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- For the fourth time in six years, the Pac-12 will not send a team to the College Football Playoff.

The continued absence has limited the conference's national visibility and damaged its perception, but Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said his program will not make any scheduling concessions to facilitate an easier path to the four-team playoff.

"They want to play the best teams in the country all the time, and there is no way we're going to go away from that mentality to try to schedule down to appease -- whatever, I guess I should stop there before I get in trouble, right?" Cristobal said. "These guys deserve to find out how good they are by playing against the best, so we're going to continue doing that."

Oregon entered Friday's conference championship game against No. 5 Utah well out of the playoff picture, in part due to a season-opening loss to Auburn. Had the Ducks not scheduled Auburn and settled for three easier nonconference games -- similar to the schedule Utah played -- their 37-15 win against the Utes might have put them in position to receive strong consideration for a playoff spot.

Despite the loss to Auburn, Oregon remained in playoff contention until a 31-28 loss to Arizona State on Nov. 24.

"I don't know if I'll get in trouble for talking about [playoff] systems, but I think there has to be a lot of weight placed on winning your conference," Cristobal said. "You can go through your conference and win your conference -- especially one where you play nine conference games like we do -- that has to and needs to carry a lot of weight going forward."

Utah, despite playing BYU, Northern Illinois and Idaho State in nonconference play, went into the game with a realistic shot to become the third team from the Pac-12, joining Oregon (2014) and Washington (2016), to reach the playoff. Had the Utes won convincingly and LSU beaten Georgia in the SEC title game, Utah would likely have received the No. 4 seed.

The Pac-12's playoff certainly isn't a new issue.

"I've been asked that a lot of times the last couple years, three, four years," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "I pretty much always have the same answer: You got a very balanced league, nine conference games. You got to pretty much run the table in conference, nonconference as well. 12-0, 11-1, that's pretty much what you got to be.

"Nobody has been able to do that because we beat each other up every year. We play that ninth game, which gives you another opportunity to take a loss. There's been a lot of balance. I hate the word 'parity,' but competitive, it's a very competitive conference."

Prior to the game, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott was asked about the possibility of his conference again being left out, and he gave no reason to believe he would advocate for playoff expansion.

"When we designed the playoff, we understood there were four slots," Scott said. "There are five big conferences, independents. That would mean years that teams couldn't get in. So we understand that."

Oregon (11-2) will play in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, while Utah's bowl destination remains unclear. It's possible the Utes (11-2) could receive an at-large berth into the Cotton Bowl, a part of the New Year's Six, but the lopsided loss makes it likely that they will drop to the Alamo Bowl. If Utah is not selected for the Cotton Bowl, the Alamo Bowl will have the option to choose Utah or USC. Should the Alamo Bowl pass on Utah, the Utes will play in the Holiday Bowl.

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens, who is also the chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee, is here at the Gaylord Texan Resort, not the Pac-12 championship game, where his two-loss Ducks had a chance to win the league -- and simultaneously eliminate it from the CFP with a win over No. 5 Utah.

Selection committee member Joe Castiglione, who is the athletic director at Oklahoma, is also here instead of watching his Sooners in the Big 12 conference championship game in nearby Arlington, Texas. All 13 committee members checked in by 4 p.m. CT on Friday to meet, have dinner and then watch the Pac-12 title game together.

While the Pac-12 and Big 12 have generated the most discussion this week because they are jockeying for the fourth spot, every Power 5 championship game will influence the committee's final votes on Selection Day.

The playoff tracker is your one-stop shop for how each result will impact the committee's decision, and it will be updated as soon as each game ends:

No. 13 Oregon 37, No. 5 Utah 15

On a night when the Pac-12 had the selection committee's undivided attention as the only game on, No. 5 Utah flopped in fantastic fashion, as two-loss Oregon thoroughly outplayed the Utes en route to winning the conference championship.

Utah's loss crushed the Pac-12's playoff hopes, but it was exactly what the Big 12 needed. The winner of Saturday's game between Oklahoma and Baylor will be in prime position to finish in the fourth spot -- assuming No. 2 LSU knocks No. 4 Georgia out of it. If Georgia loses, the Allstate Playoff Predictor gives Oklahoma a 70% chance to make the playoff with a Big 12 title, and Baylor a 59% chance with a win.

What we're watching on Saturday

No. 7 Baylor vs. No. 6 Oklahoma (noon ET/ABC)

Can Oklahoma finally win with style? Since losing at K-State on Oct. 26, Oklahoma has won its past four games by an average of 6.5 points.

It's the classic debate between eye test and résumé (Oklahoma). How the Sooners look in this game will matter, especially since the last time they faced Baylor, they needed a historic, 25-point comeback to win.

If Baylor wins, it will have to overcome a weak nonconference schedule that included Stephen F. Austin, UTSA and Rice, along with needing double overtime to beat Texas Tech and triple overtime to beat TCU.

The winner of this game will be considered by the committee for the fourth spot if No. 2 LSU knocks out No. 4 Georgia. An Oklahoma win gives the Sooners a 53% chance to make the CFP, according to the Allstate Player Predictor, which would be the fourth-best percentage.

No. 20 Cincinnati vs. No. 17 Memphis (3:30 p.m. ET/ABC)

Who will take the lead for a New Year's Six bowl? The highest-ranked Group of 5 champion is guaranteed a spot in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and the AAC has been leading the race all season. Memphis took the lead after its 34-24 win over Cincinnati on Nov. 29 to end the regular season, but can the Tigers turn around and do it again a week later? ESPN's Football Power Index says yes, giving Memphis a 69.5% chance to win.

No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 2 LSU (4 p.m. ET/CBS)

Can LSU's defense rival that of Ohio State to unseat the Buckeyes for the top spot? One of the key factors separating the top two teams in the country has been Ohio State's defense, which has a slight edge over LSU's in the eyes of the committee.

If the Tigers win convincingly against Georgia and Ohio State struggles against Wisconsin, it's possible LSU can jump the Buckeyes on Selection Day. If the Bulldogs pull off the upset, though, the one-loss SEC champs would likely finish in the top four with LSU -- eliminating both the champions of both the Big 12 in the process. According to the Allstate Playoff Predictor, LSU has an 81.3% chance to make the CFP even with a loss. That would be the easiest scenario for the committee, as the top four would likely be No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 LSU.

No. 23 Virginia vs. No. 3 Clemson (7:30 p.m. ET/ABC)

Can Clemson avoid what would be the biggest upset in the Power 5 title games? It should, because the Tigers are averaging 50.4 points per game since Oct. 12 and facing a three-loss team making its first appearance in the ACC championship game. If Clemson doesn't? There's a good chance the defending national champs would be left out. It would be hard for the selection committee to deem Clemson "unequivocally" one of the four best teams in the country with the No. 85 strength of schedule.

No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Wisconsin (8 p.m. ET/Fox)

Can Ohio State hang on to the top spot? Even if the Buckeyes lose, assuming it's a close game, they're probably still in, but if Ohio State and LSU both win, how they look in the process could determine who finishes No. 1. They have comparable résumés and have been extremely close in the eyes of the committee. Heading into Saturday, LSU was No. 1 in ESPN's strength of record metric, and Ohio State was No. 2.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- In a chaotic, controversial final 1.1 seconds of regulation, a delay of game, a Hail Mary and a buzzer beater all combined to force an overtime that led to the Oklahoma City Thunder shocking the Minnesota Timberwolves 139-127 on Friday.

With 1.1 seconds remaining and the Thunder down two points, Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns stood at the free throw line with an opportunity to ice the game. He missed his first attempt, and the Wolves sent forward Jordan Bell to check into the game.

As Bell walked into the game, his jersey was untucked, and Thunder guard Chris Paul loudly alerted referee Scott Foster of it.

"Jersey out! His jersey's out! That's a delay of game!" Paul yelled. Foster took notice, and called the Wolves for a delay of game. "Damn right," Paul said after Foster made the call.

It was Minnesota's second delay of the game -- Towns had been called for one in the first half for not having wraps on his knees unwrapped before he was signaled to check into the game -- which resulted in an automatic technical foul.

Following the call, Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari hit the free throw to cut the Wolves lead to one. With the Thunder out of timeouts, Towns was supposed to miss the second free throw attempt, but the ball clattered around the rim and fell through to put Minnesota up two.

Thunder center Steven Adams quickly grabbed the ball as it passed through the net and called a hot route, launching a full court one-handed pass to guard Dennis Schroder. Like a wide receiver creating separation, Schroder gave a nudge to Jeff Teague, caught the pass and hit a layup as the buzzer sounded to send the game to overtime.

"I ain't never been a part of something like that," Towns said. "I've been a part of a lot basketball games in my life, but never seen something like that happen. And I'm not talking about the call, I'm just talking about the execution of everything going down."

In overtime, the Thunder' outscored the Wolves 17-5, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 11 of his 29 points in the extra frame. Five Thunder players finished with 20 or more points, the first time that feat has been accomplished by any team since 2004.

After the game, Paul wasn't shy about his savvy move to alert the officials of Bell's jersey being out. As he walked over for his media availability, he heard people talking about it and pointed out, "Yeah, I told them his jersey was untucked. I know the rules."

"That happens more often than not, and sometimes refs will just be like 'whatever,' but that is the rule," Paul said. "If you check in with your jersey untucked, it's a delay of game."

Asked if he was aware the Wolves had already been called for one earlier in the game, Paul responded emphatically: "Yuuup."

The other layer to the call is Paul's checkered history with Foster. Paul has publicly criticized Foster on multiple occasions, saying in 2018, "He the man. That's who they pay to see."

Asked if he found it ironic who he was campaigning to, Paul finished the question.

"Scott Foster," he said. "Kinda crazy, huh? My agent already texted me that."

Bell declined multiple requests to speak with reporters after the game, saying, "I'll save my money" as he walked by.

"He had just come out of the game, so I don't know if his jersey got pulled when he was on the court, because it was physical game," Wolves coach Ryan Saunders said. "There's a lot of things to worry about during the game and management with things. His jersey came untucked and they called delay of game."

There was initial confusion over the call, with some Wolves players claiming in the locker room after the game they still didn't know why.

"I personally, honestly, I don't know why it was called," Towns said.

Informed it was for Bell's untucked jersey, Towns said, "OK. I don't know if you want me to get a fine or some s---, but I'm not getting a fine. I can't change it now. So, OK."

Foster explained the call, saying: "Jordan Bell came into the game with it untucked and down to his knees at midcourt, observed by myself and then [referee] Mark [Ayotte] from trailing me, and then it was assessed a technical foul."

Following the delay of game, paired with Adams hitting Schroder on the go route, the Wolves were shell-shocked and unable to rally for overtime. According to ESPN Stats & Info data, the Wolves had a 98.3% chance to win the game after Towns missed his first free throw.

"Obviously we showed you [how difficult it was to respond]," Towns said. "We didn't play well in overtime at all. We put all marbles into that one second and let our guard down, and we never picked it back up."

The Wolves' locker room was bleak postgame, with players sitting silent, holding their heads in their hands. With regard to the call, though, everyone took the high road.

"I thought we did enough to win that basketball game. We played well enough to win that basketball game," Saunders said. "We're going to pick ourselves up and be better. But it hurts."

MILWAUKEE - On any given night, Giannis Antetokounmpo succeeds at suspending fans' disbelief and completing the unthinkable.

Antetokounmpo has levitated on blocks. He has spiked balls into the Fiserv Forum stands with superman strength.

On Friday night, Antetokounmpo came as close to flying as a human can get - soaring over LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac and clobbering him with a gasp-worthy dunk to highlight a 119-91 Bucks win to improve to an NBA-best 20-3 record.

These are the games that the "Greek Freak" revels in.

"Now he is eating players," LA coach Doc Rivers said, cracking a smile. "Great players do that. They understand when someone gets the best of them or a team gets the best of them, they don't cry about it. They look at it and say, I've got to get better."

On the court, Antetokounmpo believes in serving piping hot platters of revenge. He was determined to seek retribution over Kawhi Leonard - the player most responsible for sending Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks home in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals as a member of the Toronto Raptors.

Antetokounmpo already used his animus to overpower the Raptors on November 2nd, scoring a then-season best 36 points. After the game, he said that he had "a lot of motivation" to beat the defending champions, but they were "obviously a different team." They were missing the man Antetokounmpo craved to play against the most: Leonard.

Friday wasn't the first time the Bucks had faced the Clippers this year. Milwaukee had already traveled to Staples Center and beat the Clippers there. But at the time, Paul George had yet to debut after offseason shoulder surgery and Leonard was taking the night off to load manage, returning to action the following night in a win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

"We want to be one of the best teams in the league, and to be that, you have to face the best teams in the league at their best," Antetokounmpo said ahead of Friday's rematch with the Clippers.

In some ways, Zubac was a surrogate for his teammate, Leonard. Antetokounmpo and Leonard did not go head-to-head often, so instead, Antetokounmpo unleashed elsewhere. In other ways, Zubac was just a guy in Antetokounmpo's way. Don't get in Antetokounmpo's way.

The first half lacked the razzle-dazzle expected of a matchup between two of the best players in the league. Antetokounmpo scored just 10 points on 4-of-10 field goals and Leonard's first six shot attempts were from at least 12 feet from the basket. Milwaukee's first half lead wasn't built by Antetokounmpo manhandling defenders and skillfully bullying his way to the rim, but rather by Milwaukee's second unit.

With just over five minutes remaining in the first quarter and the Clippers leading by two, Antetokounmpo sauntered over to the bench. Without him, the Bucks went on a 17-4 run and built a double-digit advantage. He returned with a minute and a half left and the Bucks up by 11. Overall, the Bucks were outscored by 10 points in Antetokounmpo's 16 first half minutes, while the Bucks outscored the Clippers by 19 in the 8:44 that Antetokounmpo was off the floor.

"I don't know what word I would use to describe his first half, but it wasn't what we've come to expect from Giannis," Mike Budenholzer said. "We are so spoiled. We felt like he was human - he just kind of had an ordinary first half. But he's not going to stand for that very long and he came out and quickly turned things in the third quarter. That was the punch we needed to throw back."

Budenholzer saw what he needed to from Antetokounmpo within a span of the first 4:13 of the second half:

• A running layup on George that drew a foul

• A sideline out of bounds alley-oop from Khris Middleton after Antetokonmpo lost Moe Harkless

• The dunk on Zubac after rolling off a handoff to Wesley Matthews

• A 3-pointer that forced the Clippers to call a timeout

Antetokounmpo finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes. He is the only player to record 4,000 rebounds and 2,000 assists by age 25 and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first player with four straight 25-point games while playing fewer than 30 minutes.

"Some of the stuff he do is just surreal," Eric Bledsoe said of Antetokounmpo. "There are countless plays he makes that you just don't see normally. I am glad to be on his team."

It is tempting to use the Bucks' win as fodder for an argument that the Bucks will be the NBA Champions. The Clippers, after all, are considered by many to be a title favorite at best and a Western conference finalist at worst. While it is certainly possible Milwaukee walks away on top, it is also a good time to remember that the Bucks beat Leonard and the Raptors three times in four meetings during the 2018-19 regular season.

That's the magic of Leonard - he turns it on in a second without any warning and does it all while keeping the same expression he would have if he had to tell you that your dog is ill. The Clippers and Bucks will not face off again unless they meet in the 2020 NBA Finals and the Finals is where Leonard historically is unrelenting.

For now, the Bucks will take this win over Leonard's team - their 14th in a row, Milwaukee's longest since the NBA-ABA merger.

"We got to keep learning and keep getting better," Antetokounmpo said. "Keep going out there playing hard. Doesn't matter if you have two wins in a row, 14 wins in a row. We just got to keep playing together and keep being humble."