After having Christmas Day off for the first time in seven seasons, the Milwaukee Bucks will face the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
Milwaukee players expressed surprise after the Bucks were not selected to play on the holiday. After all, the Bucks were the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference last season and boast one of the league’s marquee players in Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Instead, the Bucks turn their attention to the struggling Nets, who have lost eight of their last 10 games.
Milwaukee won for the sixth time in its last seven games on Monday, with Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez each scoring 21 points in a 112-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The Bucks lost eight of their first 10 games this season, but they have returned to form in recent weeks. Their last two victories, against the Washington Wizards and Chicago, came without both Antetokounmpo (back spasms, illness) and Damian Lillard (right calf strain, illness).
Antetokounmpo and Lillard may not be available to face the Nets. With both sidelined on Monday, forward Bobby Portis stepped in to provide 19 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists.
Milwaukee is seeking its second straight victory over the Nets after winning 118-113 in Brooklyn on Dec. 8. Antetokounmpo finished that game with 34 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks to help the Bucks rally from a 12-point deficit late in the third quarter.
Victories have been sparse of late for the injury-plagued Nets, who were outscored 52-38 in the second half of a 110-95 loss to the Miami Heat on Monday. Cameron Johnson and Noah Clowney scored 19 points apiece to lead Brooklyn. Johnson is averaging 22.8 points on 48.7 percent shooting over his last eight games.
The Nets’ Cam Thomas (strained left hamstring) and Ziaire Williams (sprained left knee) have been ruled out for Thursday’s game, while Dorian Finney-Smith (left calf contusion) is listed as questionable. The injuries have resulted in more playing time for Clowney, a second-year forward averaging 13.3 points and 6.7 rebounds while playing multiple positions in his last three games.
This post-holiday matchup promises to be an intriguing battle as the Bucks look to continue their winning streak and the Nets aim to break out of their slump.
