Porter, Rollins lead the Bucks past the short-handed Cavaliers, 118-116

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kevin Porter Jr. had 20 points, Ryan Rollins added 18 and the Milwaukee Bucks held off the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 118-116 on Wednesday night for their fifth victory in six games.

The Cavaliers appeared to tie it on Jarrett Allen’s basket underneath at the buzzer, but it was ruled that time had expired. Allen had 27 points and 11 rebounds.

Cleveland was without James Harden after he broke his right thumb Tuesday night in a home victory over New York. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley also sat out, with Mitchell nursing a strained right groin. Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his 13th consecutive game for the Bucks because of a strained right calf.

Jaylon Tyson pulled the Cavaliers to 116-114 with two free throws. After Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma missed a 3-pointer, Dennis Schroder scored from the right side of the lane to tie it 116 with 35.6 seconds left. Porter hit a free-throw line jumper to put the Bucks up 118-116 with 20.2 seconds remaining.

Schroder, acquired from Sacramento on Feb. 1, had 26 points, his most in nine games with the Cavaliers.

Cleveland lost for the second time in 10 games to drop into fourth place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind New York.

Cavaliers: At Detroit on Friday night.

Bucks: Host New York on Friday night.

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

Cleveland Cavaliers' Keon Ellis (14) reacts during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Milwaukee Bucks' Kevin Porter Jr. (7) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers' Dennis Schröder during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Cleveland Cavaliers' Dennis Schröder and Milwaukee Bucks' AJ Green go after a loose ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Cleveland Cavaliers' Dennis Schröder (8) drives to the basket against Milwaukee Bucks' Ousmane Dieng during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Cleveland Cavaliers' Jaylon Tyson, right, drives to the basket against Milwaukee Bucks' AJ Green during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored to give him his ninth 30-goal season and added two assists for 701 in his career and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight victory.

Brayden Point had two goals and an assist, Gage Goncalves had a goal and two assists and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves for the Lightning, who are 20-1-1 in their past 22 games. Vasilevskiy is 17-0-1 since Dec. 20.

Tampa Bay won in its first game back from the Olympic break without coach Jon Cooper on the bench. Cooper, who led Canada to the silver medal at the Milan Cortina Games, will miss two games after the death of his father, Robert.

Assistant Rob Zettler stepped in for Cooper and the Lightning ended the Maple Leafs' three-game winning streak.

The Russian-born Kucherov got his 700th assist in his 855th NHL game, becoming the second-fastest player born outside of North America to reach the mark and trailing only Peter Stastny (784 games). The milestone assist came on Goncalves' goal at 7:58 of the second period that gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead.

Kucherov's 30th goal came at 2:59 of the third and made it 3-0. His nine 30-goal seasons tie him with Steven Stamkos for the most in team history.

John Tavares and Matthew Knies scored and Anthony Stolarz made 32 saves for the Maple Leafs, whose five-game winning streak against the Lightning was stopped.

With Stolarz pulled to give Toronto an extra skater, Tavares scored with 3:41 remaining to end the shutout bid for Vasilevskiy. It came moments after Jake Guentzel missed an empty-net goal for the Lightning when his shot hit the post.

After Point made it 4-1, Knies capped the scoring with 2:47 left for Toronto. Auston Matthews had an assist on the goal, tying Tim Horton for 10th on the career franchise list with 349.

Maple Leafs: Play at Florida on Thursday night.

Lighting: Play at Carolina on Thursday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Tampa Bay Lightning center Jake Guentzel (59) gets off a shot on Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Toronto Maple Leafs center Bobby McMann (74) tries to shoot on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning center Gage Goncalves (93) gets tripped up by Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (95) after scoring past goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) celebrates with the bench after his goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) celebrates his goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs with center Gage Goncalves (93) and defenseman Emil Lilleberg (78) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)