Milwaukee stars Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Damian Lillard are expected to be on the floor together for just the sixth time this season when the Bucks face the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
Milwaukee improved to 4-1 when the three have played together with a 120-112 win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
The Bucks will play seven of their next 10 games at home, starting with the matchup against the struggling Nets.
Brooklyn has lost three straight and 11 of its past 14. The Nets fell 130-113 on Wednesday to the Toronto Raptors, who snapped an 11-game losing streak.
Next up for Brooklyn is a formidable test against Milwaukee and Antetokounmpo, who returned after missing four games and had 30 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Indiana.
Brook Lopez added 16 points and Bobby Portis Jr. chipped in 14 points and 15 rebounds to help the Bucks rally from a 19-point deficit and snap a two-game losing streak.
“I think (Tuesday) was a great testament of how we stuck with our assignments, we stuck with our rhythm, we stuck with the things we’ve been drilling, and then the game finally started turning for us,” Portis said. “It was a great game for us, especially going forward, that we can look back on like, OK, cool, we do it one time, we can do it again and just keep building, keep building.”
Guard Gary Trent Jr. capped the team’s final win of the calendar year with a pair of 3-pointers in the final minutes against the Pacers.
“It was fun, it was exciting,” Trent said. “Obviously you always want to help close out the game as much as you can, so whenever you get the opportunity, you want to try to hone in and lock in on it. I’m glad we got the win. Keep building, keep learning, and hopefully we get more reps in and find ways to win.”
Middleton scored 15 points in the victory and is averaging 18.3 points, 5.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds over his past six games.
The game Thursday will be the finale of the season series between the Nets and Bucks. Milwaukee has lost two of the first three meetings, including 111-105 on Dec. 26. Cam Johnson scored 29 points to lead the Nets past the Bucks, who played without Antetokounmpo and Lillard.
For Brooklyn, one bright spot in its loss to Toronto on Wednesday was the play of guard D’Angelo Russell, who scored 22 points in his first game with the Nets since being acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 29.
Russell is making a return to Brooklyn, where he played from 2017-19.
“It’s a good feeling, honestly, to go back somewhere you’re comfortable, somewhere you kind of know the ins and outs a little bit,” Russell said. “See some familiar faces. It kind of makes the process a little easier to adjust to. So I’m just grateful for that.”
Nets coach Jordi Fernandez was pleased with Russell’s return to the team on Wednesday, when he shot 9 of 13 from the field and added eight assists in 26 minutes off the bench.
“I think he was outstanding,” Fernandez said. “His engagement, communication, everything. His court vision, ability to play pick-and-roll, it’s pretty special.”
Fernandez is monitoring the status of forward Noah Clowney, who sustained a lower back injury in the game on Wednesday and did not return.
–Field Level Media
