Antetokounmpo and the Bucks hold off Atlanta 112-110 to snap a three-game skid

ATLANTA (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points and 17 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a three-game losing streak, holding off the Atlanta Hawks 112-110 on Monday after squandering a 23-point lead in the second half.

The Hawks led 105-104 on Jalen Johnson's 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining before dropping their fourth in a row in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day game played in the hometown of the civil rights icon.

AJ Green and Bobby Portis hit back-to-back 3s, Johnson turned the ball over and Antetokounmpo powered inside for a basket that made it 109-105 with 36 seconds to go.

The Hawks still had a chance after Nickeil Alexander-Walker connected from outside the stripe and Ryan Rollins missed a free throw for the Bucks. But CJ McCollum bobbled the ball and wound up flinging an off-balance shot that clanked off the rim to seal it for Milwaukee.

Atlanta nearly won after missing its first 21 shots from 3-point range. The Hawks trailed 54-38 at halftime and 74-51 approaching the midway point of the third period before finally coming to life.

Alexander-Walker led the Hawks with 32 points, while Johnson had 28 points and 16 rebounds. The Bucks were more balanced, with six players in double figures.

Milwaukee made a lineup change, dropping Kevin Porter Jr. from the starting five. After starting all 22 games he had played this season, Porter was replaced by Kyle Kuzma.

Porter was benched after a rough January that included an 0-for-9 shooting performance in Milwaukee's previous game, a blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs. He played 28 minutes against the Hawks with nine points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The Hawks continued to struggle at home, dropping to 7-13 at State Farm Arena. They are 13-12 on the road.

As part of the holiday commemoration, Martin Luther King III and his wife, Arndrea Waters King, were recognized during a timeout early in the third quarter.

Bucks: Return home to take on the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.

Hawks: Travel to Memphis on Wednesday to face the Grizzlies.

This story has been corrected to show that Kevin Porter Jr. has played in 22, not 36, games this season.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

MArtin Luther King is honored during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) shoots against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) looks to pass against Atlanta Hawks forward Corey Kispert (24) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) moves the ball against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots against Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed Monday to fight for his job as revelations about the relationship between the former U.K. ambassador to Washington and Jeffrey Epstein spiraled into a full-blown crisis for his 19-month-old government.

The prime minister's authority with his own Labour Party has been battered by fallout from the publication of files related to Epstein — a man he never met and whose sexual misconduct has not implicated Starmer.

Some lawmakers in Starmer's center-left Labour Party have called on him to resign for his judgment in appointing Peter Mandelson to the high-profile diplomatic post in 2024 despite his ties to the convicted sex offender. The leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, Anas Sarwar, joined those calls Monday, saying “there have been too many mistakes" and "the leadership in Downing Street has to change.”

Starmer’s chief of staff and his communications director have also quit in quick succession. But Starmer insisted he will not step down.

"Every fight I have ever been in, I've won," he told Labour lawmakers at a meeting in Parliament.

“I'm not prepared to walk away from my mandate and my responsibility to my country,” he added.

After Sarwar spoke, senior colleagues — including those tipped as potential challengers — rallied to support Starmer. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy wrote on X: "We should let nothing distract us from our mission to change Britain and we support the Prime Minister in doing that."

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper posted: "At this crucial time for the world, we need his leadership not just at home but on the global stage." Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, a potential successor, said Starmer “has my full support.”

Supportive lawmakers said Starmer won over a restive crowd when he addressed scores of Labour members of Parliament Monday evening behind closed doors.

“Of course, there were tough moments,” legislator Chris Curtis said. “But he really brought the room round.”

Starmer fired Mandelson last September after emails were published showing that he maintained a friendship with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. Critics say Starmer should have known better than to appoint Mandelson in the first place. The 72-year-old Labour politician is a contentious figure whose career has been tarnished with scandals over money or ethics.

A new trove of Epstein files released by authorities in the United States last week revealed more details about the relationship and put new pressure on Starmer.

Starmer apologized last week to Epstein's victims and said he was sorry for “having believed Mandelson’s lies.”

He promised to release documentation related to Mandelson’s appointment, which the government says will show that Mandelson misled officials about his ties to Epstein. But publication of the documents could be weeks away. They must be vetted on national security grounds and for potential conflicts with a police investigation.

Police are investigating Mandelson for potential misconduct in public office over documents suggesting he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago. The offense carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Mandelson has not been arrested or charged, and he does not face any allegations of sexual misconduct.

Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, took the fall for the decision to give Mandelson the job by quitting on Sunday. He said he “advised the prime minister to make that appointment, and I take full responsibility for that advice.”

McSweeney has been Starmer’s most important aide since he became Labour leader in 2020 and is considered a key architect of Labour’s landslide July 2024 election victory. But some in the party blame him for a series of missteps since then.

Some Labour officials hope that his departure will buy the prime minister time to rebuild trust with the party and the country.

Senior lawmaker Emily Thornberry said McSweeney had become a “divisive figure” and his departure brought the opportunity for a reset.

She said Starmer is “a good leader in that he is strong and clear. I think that he needs to step up a bit more than he has.”

Others say McSweeney's departure leaves Starmer weak and isolated.

Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer “has made bad decision after bad decision” and "his position now is untenable.”

Since winning office, Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. He pledged a return to honest government after 14 years of scandal-tarred Conservative rule, but has been beset by missteps and U-turns over welfare cuts and other unpopular policies.

Labour consistently lags behind the hard-right Reform UK party in opinion polls, and its failure to improve had sparked talk of a leadership challenge, even before the Mandelson revelations.

Under Britain’s parliamentary system, prime ministers can change without the need for a national election. If Starmer is challenged or resigns, it will trigger an election for the Labour leadership. The winner would become prime minister.

The Conservatives went through three prime ministers between national elections in 2019 and 2024, including Liz Truss, who lasted just 49 days in office.

Starmer was elected on a promise to end the political chaos that roiled the Conservatives’ final years in power.

Labour lawmaker Clive Efford said Starmer’s critics should “be careful what you wish for.”

“I don’t think people took to the changes in prime minister when the Tories were in power," he told the BBC. “It didn't do them any good.”

The front door of 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

FILE - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, talks with Britain's ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 in Washington. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP, file)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer talks with members of the audience after delivering a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Peter Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)