NBA Cup quarterfinal play gets underway on Tuesday night, with the Milwaukee Bucks hosting the Orlando Magic.
The Magic enter Milwaukee following a 115-110 win over Phoenix on Sunday to remain the only team undefeated at home this season (10-0).
Jalen Suggs led the way with 26 points, including 14 in the final quarter. Goga Bitadze added 21 points and 16 rebounds.
“It was by committee. Each person that played stepped up, gave to the group,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “That’s what we said this team is, we’re gonna defend, pull for one another and try to play the right way for one another.”
The Bucks return home from a two-game trip to Boston and Brooklyn. They snapped a two-game skid with a 118-113 win over the Nets on Sunday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 34 points along with 11 boards. Bobby Portis and Gary Trent Jr. added 23 and 20 points off the bench, respectively, and Damian Lillard scored 15 while dishing 11 assists.
“They had that stretch where they were about to get away from us, and Giannis took the game over,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “That’s what makes him so great, he sensed that. Stayed aggressive, made the right plays.”
Antetokounmpo leads the NBA with 32.5 points per game and is first on the Bucks in rebounding at 11.6. Lillard leads Milwaukee in assists at 7.5 per game.
Franz Wagner, who is out with a torn oblique, leads Orlando with 24.4 points, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Bitadze is the Magic’s top rebounder (7.3) and shot blocker (1.6).
On the injury front, Wagner went down on Dec. 7 and will be re-evaluated in January, joining young star Paolo Banchero (torn oblique) on the sidelines.
After Sunday’s game, Mosley gave an update on Banchero: “He’s responded to the things that we’re having him do, but we’ll take it one day at a time and see how he responds each day.”
Mosley did not give an updated timeline for Banchero’s return.
Jonathan Isaac and Gary Harris missed Sunday’s game for Orlando with hamstring injuries. Harris will also miss Tuesday’s game, while Isaac is questionable.
Despite Orlando’s injury woes and a 3-6 start, it has surged to first place in the Southeast Division thanks in large part to its defense. The Magic entered Monday third in the NBA with a 105.7 defensive rating.
Milwaukee is more balanced, ranking 10th in offensive rating (113.9) and 14th on defense (113.0), although it excels from deep, ranking third in 3-point percentage (39.4 percent) entering Monday.
The Bucks are fully healthy after Khris Middleton made his season debut on Friday in Boston. The three-time All-Star scored 11 points in 20 minutes on Sunday.
The Bucks lead the all-time series 73-55. They had a 14-game win streak over Orlando going into last season, when the teams split four games. The Magic have not won a season series over Milwaukee since a four-game sweep in the 2011-12 season.
The winner will head to Las Vegas on Saturday to compete in the NBA Cup semifinals against the winner of Wednesday night’s New York Knicks-Atlanta Hawks matchup.
–Field Level Media