The Milwaukee Bucks will attempt to end a two-game skid and take out some frustrations when they travel to San Antonio to square off with rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama and the struggling Spurs on Thursday.
After teasing fans in Milwaukee on Dec. 19 with expectations of the first meeting on the court between Wembanyama, a rookie who is the Spurs’ leading scorer, and Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, that clash is set to happen on Thursday in San Antonio.
Milwaukee rolled past the Spurs in the recent matchup, winning 132-119 as Wembanyama sat out due to a sprained ankle.
The game is the second of a road back-to-back set for the Bucks that began with a 142-130 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday in Indianapolis. It was Milwaukee’s second setback against the Pacers in a three-night span and the fourth time the Bucks lost to Indiana in four meetings this season.
“You learn a lot from games like this, and we’ll just continue to get better,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said afterward.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 26 points and 11 rebounds on Wednesday, marking the seventh straight game that he has been Milwaukee’s leading scorer and fifth in row that he topped the team in boards.
Damian Lillard added 23 points for the Bucks at Indiana, with Khris Middleton scoring 19, Brook Lopez hitting for 16 points and MarJon Beauchamp tallying 12 to lead the bench scorers.
The Pacers pulled away from the Bucks with a 47-29 third quarter, and Milwaukee never got within single digits in the fourth.
“Overall, I think we did a pretty good job,” Griffin added. “We fought, we kept competing. I just thought the turnovers really hurt us, just the timing of some of them. And how we were turning the ball over didn’t give us opportunity to even try to get back in the game.
“That third quarter, and especially how we started the third quarter and gave up 47 points, was tough on us. When you’re playing catch-up, you’ve got to execute, you’ve got to take care of the basketball, you’ve got to be able to get stops.”
The Spurs head home after a 106-98 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. Wembanyama led the Spurs with 20 points in the setback, which was the third straight and eighth in the last nine games for San Antonio.
“It’s all about attitude,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We can’t have 16 turnovers, but you’re playing a pretty good game. We had a lot of guys who played well. Make more free throws or make more shots. It was pretty good defense in a lot of ways.”
Keldon Johnson had 19 points off the San Antonio bench to complement Wembanyama. The Spurs rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to take a brief lead early in the third quarter but could not keep pace over the final 21 minutes.
“It came down to they’re making shots and us missing shots in the stretch,” Johnson said. “Games have been getting away from us, but I think we played a good game. We’ve just got to continue to execute and be sharper.”
Spurs guard Malaki Branham is expected to miss the Thursday game due to a sprained right ankle.
–Field Level Media