WASHINGTON -- — Kyshawn George scored 23 points, Alex Sarr added 16 points and 17 rebounds, and the Washington Wizards beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 109-99 on Thursday night.

Amid swirling trade rumors, Milwaukee’s two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a second straight game with a calf strain.

Khris Middleton and Bub Carrington each added 13 points for Washington, which held a 61-43 rebounding advantage in its second straight win.

Myles Turner scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Milwaukee, which lost its fourth straight and seventh out of its last eight games.

Bobby Portis Jr. and Kyle Porter each added 19 points for the Bucks, who began the day in 12th in the Eastern Conference and four games out of the last play-in spot.

Wizards rookie Tre Johnson rolled his left ankle while sinking a jumper with 11:10 left in the second quarter. He left the game about three minutes later and did not return.

Washington led by 18 in the second quarter and took a 57-43 lead into halftime. The Wizards held the Bucks to 34.6% shooting and 21.7% from 3-point range in their stingiest defensive first half of the season.

It was still an eight-point lead late in the fourth before Milwaukee's Ryan Rollins hit a 3-pointer and Kuzma followed with a turnaround jumper to close it to three. A few possessions later, Turner's 3-pointer from Kuzma's feed made it 101-99 with 1:30 left.

Sarr answered with a runner, Carrington and Bilal Coulibaly each sank a pair of free throws, and the Wizards held the Bucks scoreless on their final four possessions.

Up next

Bucks: Visit Boston on Sunday.

Wizards: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

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