A pair of teams looking to get back in the win column will face off Saturday when the Milwaukee Bucks play host to the Brooklyn Nets in a rematch of last season’s seven-game Eastern Conference semifinals matchup.
The Nets struggled in their first game following the All-Star break, falling 129-106 at home to the Boston Celtics on Thursday. Brooklyn had no answers on the defensive end, watching Boston to shoot 54.1 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from 3-point range.
Seth Curry finished with a team-high 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting and seven rebounds for the Nets. Bruce Brown contributed 15 points, Kessler Edwards added 13 off the bench and Andre Drummond recorded 11 along with six rebounds.
“They beat us in a lot of different areas, so hard to say what exact mistakes we made,” Curry said. “We didn’t match what they were doing on both ends of the floor from the get-go.”
Brooklyn has now dropped 13 of its last 15 games dating back to Jan. 23. The Nets have struggled staying healthy and still will be without Kevin Durant on Saturday as he awaits a re-evaluation of his left knee sprain.
Ben Simmons remains without a definite date for making his Brooklyn debut after he was acquired in a Feb. 10 trade from Philadelphia, and Joe Harris still is sidelined with an ankle injury. Goran Dragic also is listed as probable for conditioning purposes after signing with the Nets on Tuesday.
Milwaukee’s most recent game was a 123-120 loss the 76ers on Feb. 17. The Bucks took a 111-109 lead with 5:47 left to play after a Jrue Holiday 3-pointer, but Philadelphia outscored them 14-9 to close the game.
Khris Middleton had a chance to send the game into overtime but missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the final buzzer.
Giannis Antetokounmpo paced Milwaukee with 32 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists and was 13-of-23 shooting. Holiday had 24 points, Middleton chipped in 19 and Jordan Nwora had 18. Bobby Portis tallied 17 points and seven rebounds as all five starters scored in double figures.
Middleton has struggled from deep as of late and is now shooting 35.6 percent from beyond the arc on the season, his lowest 3-point percentage since his rookie season.
“I feel like I’m getting great looks. I mean for the most part I feel like I haven’t forced too many shots or too many threes,” Middleton said. “I feel like my teammates have a lot of trust in me, my coaches do too, about letting those shots go, some contested, some wide open, but they definitely want me to keep shooting.”
Brook Lopez remains out as he continues to recover from back surgery and Pat Connaughton is sidelined with a fractured fourth metacarpal on his right hand. George Hill (neck) and Grayson Allen (hip) both could return to the lineup.
DeAndre’ Bembry could make his debut after signing with the Bucks on Feb. 16. Jevon Carter could also be set to appear in his first game after signing with Milwaukee on Thursday.
Saturday marks the third game of the four-game season series between Brooklyn and the Bucks. Milwaukee has taken the first two contests, the most recent of which was a 121-109 win on Jan. 7.
Overall, the Bucks have defeated the Nets four consecutive times.
