The Milwaukee Bucks will try to stack consecutive victories over playoff-bound teams as they host the best team in the Western Conference on Sunday night at Fiserv Forum, welcoming in the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Bucks closed the first quarter on a 10-0 run, capped by a 33-foot three-pointer by Damian Lillard to take a 26-24 lead over the Thunder. Lillard scored seven points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had four. Milwaukee didn’t turn the ball over once and scored nine points off five Oklahoma City giveaways.
The Thunder are 55-12 overall and have won nine of their last 10 games. They come in with the best defense in the NBA, allowing a mere 106.2 points per 100 possessions – 3.1 points better than No. 2 Houston. They have the second-best scoring defense in the league at 107.2 points per game, and they rank first in eight different defensive categories.
The Bucks held on to beat the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night to improve to 38-28 on the year. The Bucks have the 11th-best defense in the league (111.9 defensive rating) but they have just a 114.1 offensive rating. Oklahoma City on the other hand, is at 118.4 points per 100 possessions – creating a net rating of 12.2 that has them just behind the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls as the best in NBA history.
Milwaukee rested most of its starters when the teams played in Oklahoma on Feb. 3, and the Thunder won easily 125-96. The teams met in Las Vegas for the NBA Cup championship on Dec. 17, which the Bucks won in a slugfest 97-81. That game does not count in the regular season standings.
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What time is the Bucks game on ESPN and FanDuel Sports Network?
Despite having two teams located in cities with Central Standard Time, the game will tip off at 8 p.m.
What channel are the Bucks on?
The game will be simulcast nationally ESPN (Michael Grady, Cory Alexander and Monica McNutt on the call) and locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Steve Novak and Melanie Ricks on the broadcast.
Is Giannis playing?
Yes. He is back to being listed as managing right knee tendinopathy (or soreness). It’s an important note, as it is the first time since Feb. 5 that he has not been listed with the strained left calf suffered that day in Charlotte. He’s been on the injury report previously with the soreness in that knee since training camp broke.
Thunder shorthanded, being investigated by NBA
Oklahoma City has a 13-game lead in the Western Conference and is in no danger of losing the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage through the conference finals, but it does head into Fiserv Forum down all-star Jaylen Williams (right hip strain) and first team all-defense candidate Luguentz Dort (right hip soreness). The Thunder had a seven-game win streak snapped on March 10 but then have beaten Boston and Detroit on the first part of this three-game road trip that concludes tonight.
They edged the Pistons, 113-107, last night in Detroit, which led to a rant against the officiating by Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff over frustrations about preferential treatment toward the Thunder. That followed a rant by Minnesota coach Chris Finch in late February, who pointed out how often the Thunder get away with fouling.On the other side of the ledger, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has railed all season long against his team’s free-throw differential. Oklahoma City is 27th in free throws attempted (20.2 per game, 1,351 total) where opponents are 25th in free throws attempted (23.9 per game, 1,601 attempted).
Oklahoma City is also under investigation by the league for violating its player participation policy by resting all five of its starters in a game against Portland on March 7. ESPN originally reported the inquiry. The league fined Utah $100,000 for violating the policy on March 12.
Bucks injury report
- Bobby Portis Jr., out (league suspension)
- Jericho Sims, available (right thumb sprain): Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said surgery is a “consideration” for Sims.
- Gary Trent Jr., available (left patella tendinitis)
- Kyle Kuzma, available (non-COVID illness)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, probable (right knee tendinopathy)
- Damian Lillard, probable (right groin soreness)
Bucks starters
- Guards: Damian Lillard, Taurean Prince
- Forwards: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyle Kuzma
- Center: Brook Lopez
Bucks vs. Thunder odds, over/under
Oklahoma City is a 4.5-point favorite over Milwaukee, with the over/under set at 231.5 points per BetMGM.
