The last time the Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder squared off, the game didn’t count in the NBA regular-season standings.
But it was plenty important, with the Bucks posting a 97-81 win over the Thunder on Dec. 17 in Las Vegas in the NBA Cup championship game.
On Monday night in Oklahoma City, the teams will meet for the first time since that game.
In the first matchup, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists and Andre Jackson Jr. stepped up defensively to limit Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 21 points on 8-of-24 shooting from the field.
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 21 or fewer points on just two occasions this season.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said at the time that Jackson’s defensive pressure forced him to move Gilgeous-Alexander off the ball.
“Rather than having him go get the ball in the backcourt and exert a lot of effort to get the ball and get the ball over half court, we move him off the ball,” Daigneault said. “It’s an attack we’ve seen with Dillon Brooks. It’s an attack we’ve seen with Herb Jones. There’s multiple ways to play him, and we’ve got solutions built in.”
Jackson embraces the role.
“I’m not afraid to step up to the plate against anybody just cause that’s my role and that’s who I’ve had to always be in order to make it this far,” Jackson said. “That’s what’s going to continue to take me further is I’m not afraid of any competition, any matchup.”
The Thunder are coming off a 144-110 win over Sacramento on Saturday in the first contest of a four-game homestand.
While Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 in that game in just three quarters, the star for Oklahoma City was Aaron Wiggins, who had a career-high 41 points.
The Thunder are 18-4 since falling to the Bucks in the NBA Cup, further solidifying their place atop the Western Conference.
Milwaukee was hoping its NBA Cup win would be a signal the team had turned a corner after a rough start to the season.
That hasn’t been the case, though.
After Sunday’s 132-119 home loss to Memphis, the Bucks are just 12-10 since the win over the Thunder.
Milwaukee has dropped three consecutive games and four of its last five. During the three-game skid, the Bucks have allowed an average of 133.7 points per game.
Oklahoma City could be shorthanded once again on Monday.
Jalen Williams, recently named to his first All-Star team, is listed as questionable with a right wrist sprain after missing Saturday’s win.
Also listed as questionable are Cason Wallace (right shoulder strain) and Alex Caruso (left ankle sprain). Caruso missed the win over Sacramento as well, while Wallace was injured early in the game and did not return.
Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis, the subject of trade talk ahead of Thursday’s deadline, missed his fifth consecutive game Sunday due to personal reasons.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said before the game that he was unsure if Portis would miss the contest in Oklahoma City.
–Field Level Media
