The Milwaukee Bucks are on the hunt for a successful finish to their midseason road trip against Western Conference teams when they square off against the struggling San Antonio Spurs on Friday in the Alamo City.
The Bucks head into San Antonio for the finale of a four-game stint away from home that’s produced mixed results, including a 125-112 loss in Portland on Tuesday. Giannis Antetokounmpo racked up 39 points on 17-of-24 shooting and added 12 rebounds and five assists for the Bucks in the loss, just their third in their past 12 games.
Damian Lillard scored 20 points in his return to Rip City while Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr. added 11 points apiece for the Bucks. Milwaukee lost both of its games against the Trail Blazers this season.
“I never thought we established any kind of defensive presence throughout the game,” Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said after the loss in Portland. “Our offense was awful. We didn’t have the beautiful ball movement to get the next pass in the open guy in time.
“The ball stuck all night and we played a lot of iso ball and we weren’t good enough to get away with that. So disappointing because this is a game we could have won.”
After Friday’s game, the Bucks will go home to face Memphis before heading back to the road for contests in Oklahoma City, Charlotte and Atlanta.
The Bucks won the first meeting with the Spurs this season, handing San Antonio in a 121-105 decision in Milwaukee on Jan. 8.
The Spurs look to break a five-game home losing streak after sleepwalking through the final five minutes of a 128-116 setback against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. San Antonio led the back-and-forth game by a point after a Victor Wembanyama 3-pointer with 5:38 to play before Los Angeles reeled off 15 of the next 17 points and waltzed to the finish line.
“Got to look at the film and see, once again, how we can be better down the stretch,” San Antonio guard Chris Paul said. “I mean, it’s the story of our season — we are in every game, and then we’re not.”
Wembanyama scored 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds — both team highs — to lead the Spurs, who have lost five of their past six games. Stephon Castle added 20 points, with Devin Vassell hitting for 19 and Harrison Barnes tallying 15.
San Antonio is 2-8 over its past 10 games and has fallen to a season-low four games under .500.
“On the way back from our toughest point in the season, and we made some efforts tonight to get out of it, so I think we’re on the right way,” Wembanyama said. “It’s easy to forget about winning, but it’s right there. So we’ll get back to it.”
On Thursday, Wembanyama was named a Western Conference reserve for the All-Star Game.
Friday’s contest is the second of a three-game homestand for the Spurs that ends Saturday when they host Miami. San Antonio will then not see its home court until March 2, with 10 of its next 12 contests on the road and two others in Austin, Texas, the Spurs’ home away from home.
