After 10 days on the West Coast, the Milwaukee Bucks return home to Fiserv Forum for a marquee matchup against the New York Knicks. This is the third time these two Eastern Conference foes will take each other on, with the Knicks convincingly taking both games. In their two previous meetings, New York beat down Milwaukee by an average of 28 points, with a 34-point win on Jan. 12, 140-106.
Where We’re At
The Bucks continue to tumble in the standings. After seemingly having a firm hold on the no. 4 seed, they’ve gone 4-6 in their last 10 games and now sit in the 6th seed and a half-game back of the Detroit Pistons for fifth. The Bucks did put up a valiant effort without Giannis and Dame against the Denver Nuggets, but it wasn’t enough as they lost by 10 points. They still do have a chance to reclaim their spot as the 4th seed, (with a tiebreaker over the Pacers and two more games against the Pistons to end the year), but with 10 games left, they’re running out of time to make any sort of move.
Due to the infighting of the Bucks, Pacers, and Pistons in the 4-6 seeds, the Knicks have coasted throughout most of the regular season as the no. 3 seed. They’ve stumbled without Jalen Brunson, who’s been out since March 7; they’ve gone 5-5 since then. The teams they’ve beaten aren’t the most impressive, with wins over the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, and Dallas Mavericks. Karl-Anthony Towns continues to lead the Knicks offense, averaging 26.9 PPG in the 10 games without Brunson. OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges have picked up their scoring as well, with the pair averaging over 21 points per game in the same stretch (21.5 for OG, 21.2 for Bridges).
Injury Report
After missing Wednesday’s game against the Nuggets, Giannis should be in line to play against the Knicks, after being upgraded to questionable with a left foot sprain. Lillard, Sims, and Portis are all still out with their respective ailments and suspensions (Portis is still six games away from making his return).
It’s been a rough go for the New York Knicks' point guard rotation. After losing All-Star Jalen Brunson to a right ankle sprain, they will now be without old friend Cameron Payne, who suffered a right ankle sprain in their loss to the Clippers. Miles McBride will also be watching this game in street clothes, as he's suffering from a left groin strain, and Ariel Hukporti is out for this one with a left meniscus tear.
Player To Watch
Despite all the injuries to their point guards, the Knicks seemingly have a deep stable of point guards behind Brunson and Payne. The third-string point guard (and potential starter tonight) is no stranger to Fiserv Forum: former Marquette University guard Tyler Kolek. While not much of a scorer, he’s been on a tear in the playmaking department for the Knicks. In his last two weeks of games, he has 25 assists and no turnovers in 48 minutes of action.
How To Watch
FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin at 7:00 p.m. CDT.
Playback Streaming
Poll
Game 73: against the Knicks, the Bucks will...
0%
Win big (by ten or more points)
(0 votes)
0%
Win close (by nine or fewer points)
(0 votes)
0%
Lose close (by nine or fewer points)
(0 votes)
0%
Lose big (by ten or more points)
(0 votes)
0 votes total Vote Now
Support our site! | BreakingT | ESPN+ | ESPN+ 30 For 30 | fuboTV | Disney+