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Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks rout Clippers

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Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton, right, drives by Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers’ Robert Covington, left, is congratulated by forward Norman Powell after scoring and drawing a foul during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, right, dunks as Los Angeles Clippers guard Reggie Jackson defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo dribbles during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers forward Norman Powell, right, shoots as Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers center Isaiah Hartenstein, left, shoots as Milwaukee Bucks center Bobby Portis defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer reacts to a call during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers forward Norman Powell, right, shoots as Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers guard Terance Mann, left, shoots as Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers forward Norman Powell, right, shoots as Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, second from right, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers center Serge Ibaka, right, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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LOS ANGELES — The new fellas look like they’ll fit in.

Even in a 137-113 loss to Giannis Antetokounmpo and his surging Milwaukee Bucks, the Clippers’ recent additions Norman Powell and Robert Covington appeared as unwilling to give up as any of their new teammates who three times this season have rallied from 24-plus point deficits.

Powell and Covington knocked down their first shots – 3-pointers both – en route to 28 and 13 points, respectively, off the bench in their Clipper debuts.

The new guys’ tallies included their combined 18 points in the fourth quarter, when they helped the Clippers trim what was 97-72 deficit to as few as nine points – 101-92 – before the Bucks (34-21) charged back ahead.

It was Milwaukee’s seventh win in nine games and their second consecutive night scoring 137 points – matching their season-best and setting a new season-high for a Clippers’ opponent.

“They have a good thing going here,” Powell said. “They fight, they compete – like tonight, we fought, got it to single digits. I like that. I love a team that’s like that… that’s my game, who I am. I’m a grinder, I think I fit perfectly here.”

“I thought they did a good job,” Clippers Coach Tyronn Lue said of the new Clippers. “Norm attacking the basket, getting to the free-throw line, scoring the basketball and I thought Covington’s defense, his energy, his (two) offensive rebounds, they did a good job — especially for a first game out with no practice.”

For a hot minute, the Clippers (27-28) managed to make it interesting – thanks to the new guys, who arrived via Friday’s trade that sent Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and a future second-round pick to Portland in exchange.

With 9:40 to play Sunday in front of a crowd of 17,395 fans at Crypto.com Arena, Covington skied for an offensive rebound and delivered the ball to Powell, the former UCLA star who gave it right back for open 3-pointer that cut what was a 25-point lead with 3:18 to play in the third quarter to 101-90 with 9:40 to go in the game.

And when Powell’s floater rimmed out 28 seconds later, Covington was there to clean it up with a putback that closed the gap further, to nine. Together, the former Trail Blazers combined for the Clippers’ first 11 points in the period.

But Milwaukee’s former UCLA standout, Chatsworth native Jrue Holiday, and Bobby Portis responded with a flurry to extinguish this Clippers’ rally, reeling off 11 and 10 points in the fourth quarter, which the Bucks closed with a 36-21 push.

Debuting for his new team against the team that drafted him 46th overall in 2015 – and traded him that night to Toronto – Powell led all Clippers scorers and shot 9 for 16, 4 for 8 from 3-point range and made six of seven free throws. He added four assists.

Covington went 4 for 7 and 3 for 6 from deep for the Clippers, who lost for the third time in seven games.

The Bucks matched their season-scoring high for the second consecutive game, following a 137-108 throttling of Portland on Saturday, when Antetokounmpo had 29 points with nine rebounds and six assists against Powell and Covington’s former mates.

They couldn’t avoid another Antetokounmpo onslaught, which continued Sunday evening in L.A., where he scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as all the Bucks’ starters scored in double figures. Milwaukee shot 54.5% from the field and 50% from 3-point range (better than any other Clippers’ opponent this season), including going 14 for 20 from deep in the second half.

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After a 32-point first quarter, the Clippers’ regularly scheduled lull came in the second period, when their scoring tally got stuck at the 9:36 mark and didn’t tick upward again until there was 4:12 left before halftime, when Marcus Morris Sr.s’ 3 ended the drought and trimmed the Bucks lead to 49-47. Morris finished with 20 points, 11 of which came in the first quarter.

The Clippers went into halftime trailing 60-51, finishing the quarter missing 19 of their last 23 shots before intermission as they shot 6 for 25 (24%) from the field and 3 for 11 from 3 in the period.

More regularly scheduled programming: Pat Connaughton played the role of the streaky shooting villain Sunday – canning four consecutive 3-pointers early in the third period – to push the Bucks’ advantage to 79-56.

“He shot the ball well,” Lue said. “Ran into that with (Miami’s) Gabe Vincent (six 3s in a period), ran into that with Duane Washington Jr. (four 3s in a period) in Indiana, they got hot (and) they were too much for us tonight.”

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