After losing their 16-game winning streak this past weekend, the Milwaukee Bucks will be back in action on Thursday night when they host the Brooklyn Nets, who are playing in Brooklyn.
On Tuesday night, the Bucks defeated the Orlando Magic 134-123 on the road. It was Milwaukee’s 14th win over Orlando in a row, the NBA’s longest winning streak against a single opponent.
Star Giannis Antetokounmpo passed on that challenge with a non-Coronavirus sickness. Due to soreness in his right hand, he has been ruled out of the game on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the Bucks were led by Brook Lopez, who was without Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday. He had 26 points, and Khris Middleton and Jevon Carter each had 24. In his first start since December 15, Middleton also had a team-high 11 assists.
Brooklyn defeated the Houston Rockets 118-96 on Tuesday to claim its third victory in a row. Spencer Dinwiddie had 23 points, Mikal Bridges led the team with 30 points and five assists, Nic Claxton had 18, and Mikal Bridges had 13 rebounds in his new uniform.
Ben Simmons will be out once more against the Bucks because of soreness in both his back and knee on Tuesday. After Detroit bought out center Nerlens Noel, the Nets signed him to a 10-day contract as additional frontcourt support. Noel made his debut on Tuesday. He played 18 minutes, scoring two focuses and snatching three bounce back.
With an average of 31.2 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee in both categories. Lopez continues to be a force in the low post, averaging a team-high 2.4 blocks per game, while Holiday leads the way with 7.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
In the ten games he has played so far, Bridges is leading the Nets with 26.5 points per game, while Dinwiddie and Cameron Johnson are behind him with 17.6 and 17.2 points, respectively. Claxton is the team leader with an average of 9.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
Milwaukee hopes to win the season series 3-1 in this, their fourth and final meeting. The Bucks prevailed 118-104 on the road in the previous meeting, which took place on February 28.
