Giannis Antetokounmpo added 20 points, six rebounds and four assists despite playing just 27 minutes because of foul trouble. Brandon Jennings came off the bench to score 16 points, Eric Bledsoe chipped in 14 and Tony Snell managed 12 points. John Henson netted 11 and rookie Sterling Brown hit for 10 points.
Marc Gasol tallied 17 points to lead six Memphis players in extra digits. Jarell Martin, reserve Ben McLemore and Dillon Brooks added 16 each. JaMychal Green scored 11 points and backup Deyonta Davis tallied 10.
The result boosted Milwaukee to 36-31, tying it with Miami for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Thanks to their losing streak, the Grizzlies now own the NBA's worst record at 18-49.
Memphis established an eight-point lead just 4:20 into the game when Martin sank a jumper, but the Bucks turned it around. They outscored the Grizzlies 23-9 for the quarter's remainder and took a 32-24 advantage to the second quarter when Sterling Brown converted a driving layup with 4.5 seconds on the clock.
Memphis cut the deficit to four early in the second, but Milwaukee gradually expanded the margin after that, making it 64-50 at halftime when Henson was credited with a basket on goaltending as time expired.
Brooks' layup with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter sliced the margin to 80-71, but the Bucks used a 10-2 spurt to end the period, taking a 90-73 advantage to the fourth quarter as Jennings sank a jumper with 4.6 seconds left.
The Grizzlies made a big push to start the fourth quarter, crawling within 97-91 when Davis tipped home his own miss with 6:30 remaining. But Bledsoe converted consecutive driving layups to restore a double-figure lead 39 seconds later and Milwaukee never had to fret.
The Bucks sank 58 percent of their field goal attempts and dominated the boards 47-31.
--Field Level Media
Milwaukee | Memphis | |
Khris Middleton 24 | Scoring | Marc Gasol 17 |
Brandon Jennings 12 | Assists | Jarell Martin 5 |
Brandon Jennings 8 | Rebounds | Deyonta Davis 7 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo 5 | Free Throws Made | JaMychal Green 3 |
Eric Bledsoe 2 | Steals | JaMychal Green 2 |
John Henson 2 | Blocks | Chandler Parsons 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Milwaukee | 121 | 58.0 | 12-25 | 15-22 | 33 | 47 | 5 | 6 | 19 |
Memphis | 103 | 47.2 | 9-27 | 10-19 | 27 | 31 | 5 | 6 | 9 |