The last time Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch before a Milwaukee Bucks game, his team lost by 40 points in Cleveland on Jan. 17. What a difference two months can make, as the Bucks handled the Phoenix Suns, 140-129, Sunday afternoon at Fiserv Forum after Antetokounmpo was ruled out less than an hour before tip-off.

Buoyed by the return of Khris Middleton, the Bucks (44-24) led by as many as 25 points in the first half and were led by a blistering shooting performance by Bobby Portis and a 31-point, 16-assist afternoon by point guard Damian Lillard.

It was the first 30-point, 15-assist game in Bucks history and tied a career high in handouts for Lillard. It was the fourth time in his career he had 16 in a game.

“I just wanted to come out and be in attack mode, really,” Lillard said. “I didn’t really think to myself I have to score a bunch of points., I just knew I had to be a problem for the defense, getting into the paint, getting them in rotations, making them have to help and that’s just how I played. I kept making the right play and guys just made shots.

“I give a lot of credit to the guys’ shot-making. Even though I created the plays, you don’t always make shots at that clip and we did tonight.”

Milwaukee is 9-2 when Lillard has at least 10 assists. Portis tied a season-high with 31 points and he pulled down 10 rebounds.

“He was just, I think, picking them apart really,” Middleton said of Lillard. “Mostly just seeing the crowd that he was attracting and just getting it off early. He trusted the guys out there to make the plays and hit the shots for him. But I think he did a great job of picking and choosing on when to attack that big off the double team and then also just knowing when to get off of it and not forcing things too much.”

Phoenix (39-29), which was ending a four-game Eastern Conference road trip, stayed in the game and whittled the deficit to six late in the third quarter.

A smile on his face, Lillard shouted “Damn, Bob!” as Portis pounded his chest and whipped the Fiserv Forum crowd into his special kind of frenzy following his fifth three-pointer of the first half that forced a Suns timeout with 6 minutes 3 seconds left.

In a 30-second span, Lillard assisted on back-to-back Portis triples that broke the Suns, giving Milwaukee a double-digit lead that they extended to 24 points in the first half.

In just 12:44 of play, Portis scored 25 points, making 10 of his 13 shots, including 5 of his 5 from beyond the three-point arc.

The Bucks’ reserve big man didn’t check into the game until 4:14 remained in the first quarter with the Suns leading 20-18. Portis proceeded to make all five of his shots and score 12 points in that brief stretch, including a three-pointer with 29 seconds left to give the Bucks a 39-36 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers stayed with the hot hand, and Portis added another 13 in the second quarter and the Bucks led by as many as 25.

Portis’ teammates noted how he had gotten some clean shots to start – and of course knocked them down – which put him in a zone he’s all too familiar with.

But the veteran Suns did not fold – and the Bucks couldn’t finish them off – early in the third quarter, and Phoenix cut the deficit to 95-87 with 3:34 left in the third. Then, Lillard took over. He flew in for an offensive rebound and a basket off a Pat Beverley missed three-pointer, then converted a three-point play of his own to give the Bucks a 100-87 lead.

The Suns cut it to 100-94 with 90 seconds left in the third, but Lillard scored seven straight points to end the frame – including a buzzer-beating logo three-pointer to give Milwaukee breathing room at 109-94 heading into the fourth.

The pair then did damage together in the final quarter, with Portis scoring six more and Lillard hitting a three. Both assisted on Malik Beasley three-pointers, too.

Beasley finished with 17 points and Brook Lopez added 10.