Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots against the Houston Rockets on December 22, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: VCG

Jrue Holiday scored 24 points and passed off 10 assists while Khris Middleton added 23 points as the reigning NBA champions Milwaukee Bucks defeated visiting Houston 126-106 on Wednesday.

The Bucks improved to 20-13, third in the Eastern Conference, despite the lack of Greek superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is in the NBA's COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

Milwaukee's offense took off after the first 12 minutes of action, pouring in 101 points over the final three quarters. 

The Bucks made 17 ­three-pointers on the night.

Christian Wood led Houston with 20 points and 11 rebounds on six-of-13 shooting. Eric Gordon had 12 points, six assists and three rebounds, and Kenyon Martin Jr accounted for 12 points, six assists and five rebounds off the bench.

German forward Franz Wagner scored 25 points and Gary Harris added 17 to spark the Orlando Magic over Atlanta 104-98, lifting the NBA's second-worst club to 7-25 with a fifth road victory.

Orlando's Robin Lopez scored 10 points and passed out a career-high 11 assists.

The Hawks, led by 36 points from Cam Reddish, fell to 11th in the Eastern Conference at 14-16. John Collins added 28 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered the second triple-double of his NBA career with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists to ignite the Oklahoma City Thunder over visiting Denver 108-94.

Darius Bazley came off the bench to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who had six double-figure scorers, while Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 13 points.

Eric Bledsoe scored 19 points while Paul George and Spanish big man Serge Ibaka each added 17 as the Los Angeles Clippers collected a 105-89 victory at Sacramento.

Toronto's contest at Chicago was postponed because the visiting Raptors could not field the minimum eight players needed to compete due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

The Brooklyn Nets' game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday has been postponed because the Nets do not have the required number of players.

The NBA said on its website that the Nets had 10 players in health and safety protocols as of Tuesday.

It is the eighth game to be postponed since last week.

Despite a surge in COVID-19 ­cases, NBA Commissioner Adam ­Silver has said the league has no plans to pause its season.