Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t play for the Milwaukee Bucks against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.
The former NBA Most Valuable Player, however, still will be talked about quite a bit because the game could be his last as a member of the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo hasn’t played for Milwaukee since straining his right calf on Jan. 23, but he has been the biggest name associated with trade talks as the NBA trade deadline looms Thursday afternoon.
“This is the trade deadline and there are a lot of emotions that go with that,” Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma said. “You can’t escape the talk because of the world we live in, but that’s why they pay us the big bucks.”
Whether Antetokounmpo gets dealt will hover over Wednesday’s game, but his teammates will be busy trying to help Milwaukee record consecutive victories for the first time since Jan. 2-4.
The Bucks ended a five-game losing streak by beating the visiting Chicago Bulls 131-115 on Tuesday night.
“We’ve just got to hope, we’ve got to pray, got to have faith that we can continue to do it over and over again,” said Kuzma, who tied a season high with 31 points against the Bulls. “New Orleans is coming in and we’ve got to do the same thing — play fast and play together.”
Milwaukee also played without second-leading scorer Kevin Porter Jr. (right oblique strain) and fourth-leading scorer Bobby Portis (right hip contusion) against the Bulls.
Five of Kuzma’s teammates also scored in double figures on Tuesday. The Bucks made a season-high 23 3-pointers in 38 attempts for a season-best 60.5%.
Milwaukee scored its most points in a non-overtime game since Nov. 1, and the outburst came two days after the Bucks had a season-low point total in a 107-79 loss at Boston.
The Pelicans are having offensive problems, especially in the second half. The trouble began during a 124-114 loss at Philadelphia on Saturday. New Orleans fought back from a 15-point deficit to take a 109-107 lead in the fourth quarter but got outscored 17-5 down the stretch.
Things got worse Monday in Charlotte in a 102-95 loss to the Hornets. The Pelicans led by as many as 22 points in the first half and held a 64-49 halftime lead. But they got outscored 53-31 in the second half.
“You’ve got to score more than 31 points in a half to get a win,” New Orleans interim head coach James Borrego said.
The Pelicans have gone 3-3 since Borrego went to a bigger starting lineup in search of improved defense. The defense has gotten better as New Orleans, which ranks 28th in the NBA in scoring defense (120.6), has allowed an average of just 109.7 in the past six games.
“I like where our defense is at,” Borrego said. “That’s where we are going to hang our hat the rest of the year. Now we’ve got to find more offense.”
The improved defense has given the Pelicans a chance in each of the past three losses, but the offense hasn’t held up its end. The Pelicans’ season average of 114.0 points ranks 22nd in the NBA.
–Field Level Media
