Three-time All-Star Khris Middleton is expected to make his first appearance of the season for the Milwaukee Bucks when they visit the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
Middleton, 33, had surgery on both ankles in the offseason. He practiced Wednesday before a 119-104 loss to Atlanta ended Milwaukee’s seven-game winning streak.
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said the veteran forward is frustrated by missing the season’s first 21 games.
“Anybody who wants to play, and Khris is one of those (guys), they’re frustrated,” Rivers said. “That’s mentally challenging. You see your team playing, and although we’re playing well right now, I imagine when we were really struggling and he wasn’t playing, that had to be really hard for him. You want to help your team, and he knows he can.”
Middleton averaged 15.1 points per game in 55 games last season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday’s loss to Atlanta. Damian Lillard added 25 points.
“We don’t like the feeling of losing,” Antetokounmpo said. “We had won seven in a row, so when we came in here the locker room was quiet and that’s the feeling that you want to have as a team, that yeah, we gave one away. But now we just gotta go back, watch the film, do our adjustments. We have one of the best teams in the East (the Celtics). We have a big one in two days. Get ready to compete there and hopefully we can win that one.”
Despite missing two starters, Boston stretched its home winning streak to six by beating Detroit 130-120 on Wednesday. The Celtics played without Jayson Tatum (right knee) and Jrue Holiday (left knee).
Before Wednesday’s game, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said that Tatum — who is listed as questionable for Friday — would likely miss only one game. Holiday has missed the last two games but is not listed on the injury report for Friday’s game.
Detroit made a season-high 20 3-pointers on 39 attempts, including four in a row in the fourth quarter to cut a 20-point deficit to eight.
“We just have to be better guarding the 3-point line,” center Luke Kornet said. “The 3-point line — that’s what allowed them to get back into the game. The last few minutes we did a better job of that. That’s what allowed us to get the win.”
Jaylen Brown had 28 points, six rebounds and nine assists for the reigning NBA champions.
“I think he does a good job of trying to read the team … who needs to get a touch, who we need to get going,” said Kristaps Porzingis, who scored a season-high 26 points. “He’s good at that. If he needs to take more responsibility and attack more and create more, he does that for us.
“We already know what he gives us defensively, his physicality. When he’s engaged like this, he’s one of the best players in the league in my opinion. What we love about him is that he’s going to make the right play and he’s going to give the team what the team needs in that moment.”
Friday’s game will be the teams’ third meeting this season. The Celtics won 119-108 at home on Oct. 28 and prevailed 113-107 at Milwaukee on Nov. 10.
–Field Level Media