The Milwaukee Bucks host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night in their final home game of the regular season.
Milwaukee (48-31) ended its four-game losing streak on Tuesday night with a 104-91 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Patrick Beverley, who moved into the starting lineup in place of Malik Beasley, led the way for Milwaukee with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Both totals represented his most as a member of the Bucks.
Despite the win, Milwaukee left Tuesday with a new concern for its championship aspirations. Giannis Antetokounmpo exited in the third quarter with a left calf injury.
Antetokounmpo was taken from the arena to undergo an MRI exam. The team was awaiting those results and did not provide a timeline for his return.
“High, I would say that. But he’s Giannis,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said when asked his concern level of the injury. “I think everyone probably feels the same way as I do right now so we’re just going to hope for the best.”
Antetokounmpo had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists before exiting the game due to injury.
“Any time you see one of your teammates go down, it’s I think a real level of concern,” Bucks guard Damian Lillard said. “We spend a lot of time around each other, more than we would our families. I think that was the No. 1 thing. And then for it to be your best player, the most important part of our team, at this point in the season, it was like an, ‘Oh, (damn)’ moment, especially because there was nobody else around.”
The Magic (46-32) arrive after a loss at Houston. The Rockets defeated Orlando, 118-106.
Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs each had 21 points to lead the Magic. Markelle Fultz added 18 while Jonathan Isaac recorded 10 to go along with eight rebounds.
“We can’t hang our heads, we have to come out and go after Milwaukee (on Wednesday),” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Take the lessons from this one, bounce back (on Wednesday).”
Banchero leads Orlando with 22.5 points and 5.3 assists per game this season. Wendell Carter Jr. averages a club-best 7.2 rebounds.
Antetokounmpo paces the Bucks with 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. Lillard is averaging 7.0 assists and Brook Lopez contributes 2.4 blocks per game.
Aside from Antetokounmpo on the injury report, MarJon Beauchamp missed Tuesday’s game with an ankle injury. Franz Wagner missed Tuesday for Orlando with an ankle injury as well.
These teams play again on Sunday to conclude their four-game series. Orlando posted a 112-97 win on Nov. 11 and Milwaukee answered with a 118-114 victory on Dec. 21.
Orlando has stood out primarily on the defensive end this season, yielded an NBA third-best 108.4 points per game.
Milwaukee will look to beat good defense with good offense, ranking in a tie for third at 119.5 points per game.
–Field Level Media