Two top-sex teams in the eastern conference, both missing key stars, meet Friday night when Milwaukee Bucks hosts New York Knicks.
New York saw its two-match victory that ended on Wednesday when the visiting Los Angeles Clippers came back to win 126-113.
“They were fresh on two days of rest (and) I knew we would have to be at our best,” said Knick’s head coach Tom Thibodeau. “We are more than capable to overcome adversity but did not get it.”
Knicks played the other night by a back-to-back.
Milwaukee (40-32) rides on a two-game lost ski and lost three of their five matches on a road trip through the Western Conference Road Trip when they fell 127-117 to Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.
Neither Giannis Antetokounmpo (foot) nor Damian Lillard (Kalv) played for Milwaukee, but Bucks still held it near a healthy Nuggets squad until the last minute.
Brook Lopez led the road for Bucks with 26 points. As the only big man on the Milwaukee list, Lopez has received at least 21 points in three straight matches.
“Brook was fantastic all night with 26 points,” said Buck’s head coach Doc Rivers. “Many of the times he was at (Nikola) Jokic (and) He worked with the butt. We had a chance to win that game. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys right now.”
Antetokounmpo leads bucks with 30.2 points and 12.0 returns per match. Lillard is on average 24.9 points, 7.1 assists and 1.2 steals, while Lopez adds 13 points, 5.1 returns and 1.9 blocks.
Jalen Brunson leads New York (45-27) with 26.3 points and 7.4 assists per match. Karl-Anthony Towns is an average of 24.6 points and a team best 12.9 returns, which are ranked second in the NBA.
But Brunson (ankle) remains out for New York and will have its status updated in the coming days. Miles McBride (groin) and Cameron Payne (Ankel) will also be out against Bucks.
Lillard will remain for Milwaukee, with antetokounmpo which is considered day to day. Milwaukees Jericho Sims (thumb) and Bobby Portis (suspension) don’t play against Knicks
Knicks has won four in a row against Milwaukee, with two of those who came this season after winning 116-94 at home in November and 140-106 at home in January.
Both teams had full strength in the latter matchup and Brunson dominated with 44 points, along with 30 points and 18 boards from cities.
Antetokounmpo scored 24 points for Bucks and took 13 boards, while Lillard added 22. New York shot 58.0 from the floor while Milwaukee went only 10-for-34 beyond the arch.
Bucks had won nine games in a row over New York before Knick’s four-game dash.
New York is sixth in the NBA in offensive rating and 13th defensive rating, while Milwaukee stands out more on the defensive end ranking 10th defensive rating compared to the 15th offensive rating.
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