No. 22 St. John’s reeled off 12 straight points early in the second half to trigger a 68-56 Big East win over DePaul on Tuesday night in Chicago.

Zuby Ejiofor produced 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists to pace the Red Storm (17-5, 10-1), who won their eighth in a row to set up a first-place showdown with No. 3 UConn (22-1, 12-0) on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Bryce Hopkins notched 15 points and Oziyah Sellers added 13.

Layden Blocker posted 13 points for the Blue Demons (12-11, 4-8), who were trying to extend their home winning streak in league play to five games for the first time since March 2005. DePaul shot 34.6% from the field and committed 11 of its 15 turnovers in the second half.

The first half was a masterclass in physical and relentless man-to-man defense as the Red Storm and Blue Demons took umbrage at every shot, pass, dribble and cut.

St. John’s missed 12 of its first 14 shots and DePaul wasn’t much better as they combined for seven ties and six lead changes in the first half. Neither team led by more than one possession until the Blue Demons forged a 28-24 lead on Kaleb Banks’ free throw with 1:45 left in the half.

St. John’s responded with Sellers’ 3-point pullup and Hopkins’ layup to take a 29-28 lead into the break. The Blue Demons shot 33.3% from the field while the Red Storm hit just 30%.

The Red Storm cranked up their pressure another notch early in the second half. After CJ Gunn banked a stepback jumper from just beyond the free-throw line to give DePaul a 35-34 edge with 17:34 to go, the Blue Demons were held scoreless for the next 6:45.

While DePaul was busy committing four turnovers and missing seven consecutive shots, St. John’s went on a 12-0 spree. Ejiofor started it with a putback and two free throws before Sellers flew in for a tip-in and swished a 3-pointer. Ian Jackson closed the run with an open 3-pointer to give St. John’s a 46-35 lead with 11:10 to go.

As the Red Storm seized control, tempers boiled over and five technicals were handed out in less than two minutes. Sellers and DePaul’s Brandon Maclin picked up technicals at the 12:16 mark when Sellers didn’t appreciate Maclin trying to rip the ball out of his hands while calling a timeout, DePaul coach Chris Holtmann received a technical for questioning a foul call at 10:32 while Blocker and Hopkins got T’d up three seconds later for barking at each other after Hopkins fouled Blocker battling for a loose ball.

DePaul got as close as 56-50 when Blocker’s transition layup closed a 6-0 run with 3:35 to go, but St. John’s scored the next six to restore order.

–Field Level Media

Kyle Kuzma scored 31 and grabbed 10 boards to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a dominant 131-115 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.

Ryan Rollins added 21 along with 10 assists for Milwaukee, which snapped a five-game losing skid. AJ Green added 17 while Myles Turner, Pete Nance and Gary Trent Jr. each scored 15.

Matas Buzelis scored a team-high 22 points for Chicago, who fell for the fifth time in its last six games. Coby White recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds. Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams each added 17 points.

Chicago was without many key pieces due to a flurry of trade activity. The Bulls reportedly parted ways on Tuesday with Nikola Vucevic, Kevin Huerter and the newly acquired Dario Saric. Josh Giddey (hamstring) also missed the game.

The Bucks came out firing as they shot 64% from both the floor and from beyond the arc (7-for-11). Kuzma scored 11 points in the opening frame.

Milwaukee didn’t slow down in the second as it continued to shoot over 60% from the floor. The Bucks also dominated points in the paint (26-14) as they took a 77-52 lead into halftime.

It was a season high for points in a single half for Milwaukee as Kuzma had 18 to lead all players while Turner and Rollins each had 13.

The third quarter was be a much different story. The Bulls came out of the halftime break motivated as they shrunk a 26-point deficit down to six.

Milwaukee punched back, responding with an 18-4 run at the end of the third into the start of the fourth to go back up by 17. The Bucks rode the momentum from there and did not relinquish a double-digit edge.

Milwaukee knocked down a season-high 23 3-pointers in making 60.5% from beyond the arc. Green, Rollins and Trent each had five shots from deep individually.

–Field Level Media

Isaiah Hartenstein had his first career triple-double and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the Orlando Magic 128-92 at home Tuesday.

Hartenstein had 12 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists, securing the triple-double when he picked up an assist on Isaiah Joe’s 3-pointer five minutes into the fourth quarter.

Joe came off the bench for a game-high 22 points, tying a season high, while Luguentz Dort scored 18 and Chet Holmgren had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Thunder jumped out to a big lead early and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way in their third win in four games.

Jalen Suggs led Orlando with 20 points, going 7 of 11 from the field. Paolo Banchero had 17.

After a quick start, Gilgeous-Alexander cooled considerably, but used a third-quarter burst to keep his streak of 20-plus games alive. Gilgeous-Alexander has now reached the mark in 121 consecutive games, moving him five games from tying Wilt Chamberlain for the NBA record.

Whether Gilgeous-Alexander would continue the streak was about the only drama left in the second half, after the Thunder outscored the Magic 39-14 in the first quarter.

The Magic’s 14 points were their lowest in the first quarter since scoring 11 in the first quarter against Golden State in March 2024.

Orlando missed its first 10 3-point tries, not connecting until early in the second quarter.

The Magic fell behind big early for the second consecutive game. In Sunday’s loss in San Antonio, Orlando trailed by as many as 18 points in the first quarter.

Hartenstein’s night was done shortly after his 10th assist as Oklahoma City’s starters were able to get rest late on the first night of a back-to-back.

By the time Gilgeous-Alexander hit his first shot, he had three assists and three rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander assisted on the first two made shots of the game — both Dort 3-pointers.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished 8 of 22 from the field, and added nine assists, five rebounds and two steals. He had 10 points and six assists in the first quarter.

Joe delivered the highlight of the first half, cutting down the lane through the basket, taking a bounce pass from Hartenstein and finishing with a thunderous dunk over Banchero and drawing the foul midway through the second quarter.

After trailing by as many as 35, Orlando cut the deficit to 23 midway through the third quarter but Oklahoma City quickly widened the lead again and the Magic never got any closer.

The Magic shot a season-low 38.2% from the field.

–Field Level Media