Khris Middleton scored 22 points and Jrue Holiday added 18 for the Bucks, who moved a half-game behind the Miami Heat for first place in the Eastern Conference as the Sixers dropped two places to fourth -- still just 1 1/2 games behind the Heat.

At the top of the table, clash-dominated Eastern Conference action, the Los Angeles Lakers slid out of Western Conference post-season position with an embarrassing 128-110 loss to the Mavericks in Dallas.

With LeBron James and Anthony Davis sidelined by injury, the Lakers trailed by a shocking 82-56 at halftime.

It was the second-most first-half points allowed by the Lakers in franchise history -- after the 83 conceded to the Celtics in a game on February 27, 1959.

"Not good enough in any way," was Lakers coach Frank Vogel's assessment after watching Mavs star Luka Doncic ride roughshod over his players.

Doncic scored 34 points with 12 rebounds and 12 assists, posting his 10th triple-double of the season.

Doncic said the Mavs knew they needed a quick start against the Lakers, who with seven games remaining are fighting just to get into the play-in tournament for teams in seventh through 10th place.

"They're fighting for the playoffs, so we had to get out with aggressiveness and energy," he said.

Meanwhile, the Bucks and Sixers continued their battle for position in the East in a game that came down to the wire.

James Harden scored 32 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Philadelphia and Embiid shook off a slow start to score 29 points with 14 rebounds and seven assists.

Down by as many as 11 in the first quarter, the 76ers led by 10 at halftime and by 14 in the third quarter.

But the Bucks took control in the fourth, opening the final period on a 13-4 scoring run and taking a 94-93 lead on a three-pointer from Middleton.

It was a back-and-forth battle from there, with an Antetokounmpo free throw putting Milwaukee up by two with 13.2 seconds remaining.

Out of a time out, Harden missed a three-pointer and Embiid grabbed the rebound for a put-back attempt that Antetokounmpo blocked with 1.6 seconds left.

An initial goaltending call on Antetokounmpo -- which would have given a basket to Philadelphia -- was overturned on review, and on the ensuing jump ball, the 76ers ran out of time.

"He does it again tonight," Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer said of Antetokounmpo, who also had 14 rebounds and six assists. 

"It's just a special block. And, you know, the refs call goaltending. A little bit frustrating, but with the rules and being able to review it, they went and reviewed it. It was a good block."

- Durant fuels Nets -

Elsewhere, Chicago's DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points to lead the Bulls to a 107-94 victory over the Washington Wizards and into sole possession of the fifth place in the East.

Brooklyn superstar Kevin Durant scored 41 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Nets erased a 12-point second-quarter deficit to beat the Detroit Pistons 130-123 at Barclays Center.

Kyrie Irving scored 24 points and Andre Drummond added 14 for Brooklyn, who had six players score in double figures.

The victory kept the Nets a game ahead of the Charlotte Hornets for eighth place in the East.

bb/st

© Agence France-Presse

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