The Milwaukee Bucks will host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, a matchup of two teams at opposite ends of the standings.
Milwaukee (51-20) has won 22 of its last 25 games and has the best NBA record, while San Antonio (19-53) is tied for the league’s worst record with the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets.
Following San Antonio’s victory over the Bucks on Nov. 11 at home, 111-93, the Bucks want to split the season series. Playing without harmed stars Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Occasion and Khris Middleton, the Bucks were held to 32.7 percent shooting in the misfortune. Jevon Carter led Milwaukee with 21 points, while Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 29 points.
Milwaukee is in a lot better spot for the rematch. The Big Three are back, and Joe Ingles, who was also absent for the meeting in November, has emerged as a crucial cog in the Bucks’ charge toward the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
In Milwaukee’s 118-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Middleton and Ingles scored 26 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and provided 10 assists.
Middleton is shooting 51.2% from the field overall and 47.6% from three-point range in his last three games, averaging 22.3 points, seven assists, and four rebounds.
Brook Lopez, Milwaukee’s center, gave another outstanding performance against the Raptors, scoring a team-high 26 points. The veteran is shooting 56.9% and averaging 20.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks since the All-Star break.
The short-handed Spurs, who have lost six of their last nine games, are Lopez’s ideal opponent. On Tuesday, San Antonio suffered a 119-84 defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans to kick off a four-game road trip.
Johnson didn’t play because of a neck injury, and the Spurs also didn’t have Charles Bassey, Khem Birch, Jeremy Sochan, or Devin Vassell because of knee injuries. Additionally, San Antonio was without center Zach Collins, who was granted a rest day.
One bright spot was the play of forward Sandro Mamukelashvili, who made 7 of 14 shots and scored a team-high 20 points.
After missing two games because of soreness in his left quad tendon, guard Devonte’ Graham came back and played 24 minutes off the bench and scored 15 points.
Graham was acquired from the Pelicans on February 9 and has played seven games this month, averaging 17.6 points and 4.3 assists.
