Anfernee Simons powers Trail Blazers past Bucks

Anfernee Simons scored 28 points with eight assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 105-102 win on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.

Deni Avdija added 19 points and 14 rebounds for Portland while Shaedon Sharpe scored 16. Deandre Ayton put forth a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 31 and 11 rebounds. AJ Green added 21 off the bench and Damian Lillard scored 16.

In the first half, Milwaukee struggled to shoot and only got above 40% by the end of the half, ending at 43.5 percent compared to 48.9 percent for Portland. Portland led 54-51 at the break

Following similar trends to recent games, it was another sloppy start to the second half for Milwaukee. Portland went on a 12-6 run out of the break to take their biggest lead at 66-57.

However, Milwaukee slowly crawled back in the quarter and with a buzzer-beating layup from Ryan Rollins they led 76-75 going into the fourth.

The Bucks regained the lead in the fourth with five minutes to play when Green hit his seventh 3-pointer, tying his career-high.

A 5-0 run put Portland ahead 98-94, before Lillard hit a step-back jumper to tie the game at 100 with just under two to play.

Then Simons responded. After two free throws from Antetokounmpo, Simons finished a layup through a foul, giving Portland the lead after the free-throw.

Lillard turned it over on the next possession, and after two more free throws from Simon, Lillard missed what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer.

Portland won just their fourth road game of the season. They've also now won two in a row over Milwaukee, who lost for the second straight game at home against a team out of the playoff picture.

--Field Level Media