NBA: Wizards pull away from Bucks to earn rare back-to-back wins

Kyshawn George tallied 23 points, five rebounds and five assists and Alex Sarr recorded 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds to lead the Washington Wizards to a 109-99 home win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

Khris Middleton and Bub Carrington each added 13 points and Justin Champagnie joined Carrington off the Wizards' bench with 12.

Myles Turner led the way for the Bucks with 21 points, 14 rebounds (a season high) and six blocks. Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis each scored 19 points and Ryan Rollins added 17.

Washington has won back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 31-Jan. 2. Milwaukee is 3-13 without star Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) in its lineup.

The Wizards led by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter, but Turner's 3-pointer cut the lead to 101-99 with 1:30 remaining.

Washington, however, responded by scoring the final eight points. Sarr gave the Wizards a four-point advantage with a floater in the lane and Carrington, Middleton and Bilal Coulibaly each added a pair of free throws to give Washington the win.

In the third quarter, Sarr's block set up Coulibaly for a breakaway dunk to extend the Wizards' lead to 70-55 with 6:12 left.

Milwaukee answered with five consecutive point, but as they did all night, the Wizards responded with a run of their own. Sarr and Carrington each knocked down a 3-pointer to give Washington a 76-60 lead with 3:36 left in the third.

The Wizards also used a pair of big runs to create separation in the second quarter.

First, they went on an 11-0 run that began late in the first, capped off by a Champagnie layup in transition to give Washington a 33-23 lead with 10:30 left in the first half.

Later in the quarter, George hit a 30-foot 3-pointer to finish off a 14-2 run that helped the Wizards extend their lead to 52-35 with 3:02 remaining in the half. Those two runs helped the Wizards outscore the Bucks 32-20 in the second quarter and take a 57-43 advantage into halftime. — Field Level Media/Reuters