Coming off their worst loss of the season, the Milwaukee Bucks look to rebound without Giannis Antetokounmpo as they host the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.
Milwaukee has had three days to sit on a 127-82 thrashing at the hands of the seven-win Brooklyn Nets. It was the Bucks’ 11th loss in their last 14 games.
Gary Trent Jr. led Milwaukee with 20 points while Kyle Kuzma added 13. Kevin Porter Jr., who had been a revelation since returning from a knee injury, shot 2-for-13 from the floor for five points.
“I don’t overdo things,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after the game. “Forty-eight hours ago, we were in a good place. Now we get blown out and we’re in a bad place. You can’t keep flipping and flopping, that’s what people want you to do. You should stay as consistent as possible.
“Either we’re not executing well enough or we’re not good enough. Our record right now is what it is and until that changes, we can’t look at anyone as a team that can’t beat us. We’ve proven we can play against anyone.”
Porter’s 19.3 points and 6.9 assists per game lead Milwaukee without Antetokounmpo in the mix, though he has played just eight games. Ryan Rollins averages 17 points and six assists per night over 27 games.
The Raptors lost four games in a row at home to tie their longest losing streak of the season, but they put an end to that on Monday by taking down the Heat, 106-96, in Miami.
Brandon Ingram led the way with 28 points along with five boards and five assists. Scottie Barnes added 17 points with 10 rebounds and six assists while Immanuel Quickley added 15 points.
“We needed that. We played a really good team, I thought it was a really challenging game for us,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “Attention to detail, preparation for the game, we did a really good job. Once you play to that standard, it’s really rewarding when you get a win.”
Ingram leads a balanced scoring attack for Toronto, averaging 21.8 points per game but followed closely by Barnes (19.6), RJ Barrett (19.4) and Quickley (16.5).
On the injury front, the team announced Monday that Barrett (knee) will begin “return-to-play activities” this week. He has not played since Nov. 23.
For Milwaukee, Rivers said there is no update on Antetokounmpo (calf strain) and he doesn’t see him returning “any time soon.” The original timeline when Antetokounmpo went down Dec. 3 was 2-4 weeks.
Further for Milwaukee, AJ Green (shoulder) had a “pretty good practice” on Wednesday according to Rivers. He has missed the last three games and is listed as questionable for Thursday’s game. Additionally, Milwaukee applied for a disabled player exception for Taurean Prince (herniated disc), per Eric Nehm of the Athletic.
These teams have met twice this season and split. The Raptors ended Milwaukee’s four-game win streak against them in the latter matchup when they dominated 128-100 on Nov. 4.
Toronto had six players score in double figures in that game, led by 23 each from Barrett and Barnes.
–Field Level Media
