The Milwaukee Bucks’ star trio gets another chance to reacquaint itself in a matchup against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
The Bucks (17-15) are coming off a wild game against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday. They went on a 20-0 run in the fourth quarter to rally back into contention, but they fell short in a 113-110 loss.
It was a rare second consecutive game with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton all available to play. Antetokounmpo’s 27 points led the way but the group didn’t perform as expected, according to Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers.
“The other night (against Indiana on Tuesday), Giannis was barely moving getting back,” Rivers said. “Tonight, their defensive intensity, ball pressure … it’s not a lot of nights like this where we play offense like the way we played tonight.”
Rivers added that he’s not as concerned with the opponent’s challenges as he is with his own team’s execution.
“You got to show up and be ready to play as a group and I didn’t think we were tonight,” Rivers said. “We didn’t play the right way, they just beat us, so they got great confidence.”
Portland (11-22) fell on the road 114-106 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday and are now 2-4 since Dec. 21. However, head coach Chauncey Billups said he saw signs of improvement from his young team.
Portland was down by 15 points in the fourth quarter before they rallied to within one possession before Los Angeles pulled away.
“I loved everything about how we fought back,” Billups said. “I was so proud of our guys. I thought the small lineup was really good for us. I loved how we played in the game overall — in particular in the fourth quarter.”
Anfernee Simons led Portland with 23 points, while Deni Avdija added 19 and 10 rebounds. Shaedon Sharpe also had 19 points for the Blazers.
“Deni, we’re starting to grow accustomed to that’s just Deni, and we’re fortunate for that,” Billups said.
Sharpe leads Portland with 17.9 points per game followed closely by Simons’ 17.7. Deandre Ayton has averaged 10.0 rebounds per game.
Antetokounmpo leads the NBA in scoring at 32.4 points per game. He also leads the Bucks with 11.7 rebounds, while Lillard dishes out 7.6 assists.
On the injury front, Milwaukee was without AJ Green (back) on Thursday, while Portland was missing Jerami Grant (face) and Matisse Thybulle (ankle) against the Lakers.
When Milwaukee has found success, it’s typically included a mix of Antetokounmpo down low and strong 3-point shooting. The Bucks currently sit third in the NBA in 3-point shooting at 38.5 percent.
This series was highly publicized a year ago with Lillard playing for the Bucks against his former team. Both games delivered on entertainment value.
Milwaukee had to overcome a 26-point deficit to beat Portland on their home floor last November. In Lillard’s return to Portland, with all the tributes and ovations, his former team came out on top in a 119-116 thriller.
Before that loss, Milwaukee had won nine of the previous 10 matchups in the inter-conference series.
–Field Level Media
