NEW ORLEANS – The Milwaukee Bucks made up New Orleans to make up a late January game that was snowed out, and they edged a decimated Pelicans team, 111-107, Sunday night at the Smoothie King Center.
Even without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee (44-34) won its fourth game in a row and having dropped four straight.
“This organization and this team is usually high spirited always, but we’re all human so losses can take a toll and it was good that we turned the page,” Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. said. “Four losses (in a row) is not what we want for sure but to be able to get four wins after that is great momentum and a great response.”
Gary Trent Jr. started for the ninth time this season and scored a season-high 29 points to lead Milwaukee. Porter started his second game with the Bucks (and third on the year) alongside Trent, and scored 20 points.
“Really, just honest, we don’t have no choice but to get it done,” Trent said. “Obviously we understand what we’re fighting for, we understand what we’re trying to be, where we’re trying to position ourselves so we gotta lay it on the line every night and go get the job done, by any means. Any time, any night, could be somebody else stepping up, so we gotta continue to do that and continue to get ready for this push.”
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It was a back-and-forth game throughout before the Bucks finally appeared to put the hammer down about halfway through the fourth quarter after the Pelicans had taken a 91-88 lead. Brook Lopez keyed a 13-0 run that gave the Bucks a 101-91 lead, three-minute stretch that saw him score six points, pull down three defensive rebounds and block a shot.
“Fell on a good play down the stretch (for Lopez), we ran it over and over again, we executed it,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “Loved our execution down the stretch until the very end, but other than that, it’s a win on a back-to-back night when you didn’t know who was going to play tired or not. And everyone played well. It was good for us.”
BOX SCORE:Bucks 111, Pelicans 107
Milwaukee was then able to hold on down the stretch, even though they mishandled the final 29 seconds and allowed the Pelicans to pull within 110-107 with 3.1 seconds to go. Trent was fouled on the ensuing Bucks inbound pass, however, and made 1 of 2 free throws to clinch it.
“As a point guard, I’ve got to get the ball and put everyone in their spots so I take responsibility for that at the end of the game,” Porter said. “We just gotta be disciplined, close the game and don’t be satisfied being up five with three seconds left. It’s the NBA – crazy things happen. We already had a game where we was up four and someone got an and-one three and we end up losing (at Indiana on March 11). We just gotta stay disciplined and close out the game.”
Lopez finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. He scored eight points in the decisive fourth quarter.
“He’s a champ at the end of the day so he knows how to finish and win games,” Porter said of Lopez. “And he was in the roll, he had the matchup, and they couldn’t stop him. So, we didn’t want to go away from it. Just kept going and kept going and he kept making the play.”
Kyle Kuzma added 17 points for the Bucks while Ryan Rollins came off the bench to score 14 points, hand out 10 assists and pull down seven rebounds. He also had four steals.
The Bucks were supposed to play the Pelicans on Jan. 22, but they wound up being snowed into their hotel for days after the Crescent City received a record snowfall. The Bucks had flown into New Orleans after playing a game on Jan. 19 and didn’t get home until Jan. 23 – just hours before taking on the Miami Heat.
New Orleans (21-57) has again been decimated by injury throughout the season and has lost eight of its last 10 as the Pelicans are once again vying for a high draft pick in the lottery. Eight players were out with injury, including stars Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III. The team also traded Brandon Ingram at the deadline.
Antonio Reeves led six Pelicans in double figures with with 23 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo ruled out for Bucks, eligible for MVP
Giannis Antetokounmpo winced, and groaned, as he lifted his left arm just before speaking to the media following the Bucks’ loss in Phoenix on March 24. But on that night, the pain in his left foot was more concerning – and he missed the team’s next game in Denver on March 26.
On Saturday morning in Miami, the 7-footer was again wincing as he raised his left arm after the team completed its shootaround at the Kaseya Center. Unfortunately for the Bucks, that pain forced him out of the team’s game in New Orleans Sunday night.
“Just a lot of minutes, overtime game – so that was about it,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said before the game.
On Saturday, Antetokounmpo wore a sleeve on that arm in the Bucks’ overtime victory against the Heat.
“I don’t even notice half the stuff guys have on,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said before the game. “I really don’t. I think someone said it during the game. I don’t ask, I don’t know. As long as they’re healthy. I think all that stuff that all the guys wear is precautionary to be honest. I don’t think there’s anything serious to it. But if anybody has wear and tear, it would probably he Giannis. He gets hit a lot. And they don’t call it. I thought I’d throw that in there.”
Antetokounmpo has carried a heavy burden since missing that game in Denver, scoring 33.8 points on 63.4% shooting and pulling down 11.0 rebounds and handing out 10.6 assists.
In that stretch he:
- Was the first to score 35 or more points, have 20 or more assists and 15 or more rebounds.
- Joined Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to record back-to-back games with 35 or more points, 15 or more rebounds and 10 or more assists.
- Tied Chamberlain for the third-most career games with 30 or more points, 10 or more rebounds and five or more assists (149).
While it likely Antetokounmpo returns to play before the end of this regular season, he is assured of being able to continue his streak of all-NBA teams and log another top 3 finish in the MVP voting. For award purposes, the NBA Cup final counts as a game played (though the stats do not count toward the season).
Bucks keep a hold on No. 5 seed
Milwaukee and Detroit have been going back-and-forth between the Nos. 5 and 6 seeds in the Eastern Conference for some time, with their position changing nearly game-to-game at this point.
With their victory over the Pelicans, the Bucks (44-34) moved to a full game advantage over the Pistons (43-35) with four games remaining. And, they currently hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with a 2-0 series lead. The Bucks and Pistons finish the regular season with games against one another on April 11 and 13.
“Our main focus is to focus on us and get ready for this push,” Trent said. “That’s our main focus, that’s our main goal. We’re not focused on any other teams. Every single night when we step in to it we’re focused on Bucks basketball and if we go play Bucks basketball we should be successful.”
While neither seed grants home-court advantage in any series, facing Indiana or New York may matter greatly for Milwaukee.
The Bucks are 3-1 against the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers, with the one loss coming on a last-second, four-point play by Tyrese Haliburton. Milwaukee is 0-3 against the No. 3 New York Knicks, however, and were not very competitive in any of those games.
While Antetokounmpo has maintained he doesn’t care what seed the Bucks are, the ultimate goal is to advance – and playing the Pacers gives the Bucks a better chance at getting out of the first round for the first time since 2022.
Bobby Portis Jr.’s league suspension ends
The Bucks have been looking forward to the return of Bobby Portis for some time, and he will be back in the lineup Tuesday against Minnesota at Fiserv Forum. Sunday’s game in New Orleans was the 25th and final game of Portis’ suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy.
Portis has traveled with the team and participated in shootarounds, practices and live scrimmaging.
He tested positive for a banned painkiller in November and his suspension was handed down coming out of the all-star break.
Annually one of the league’s top reserves, Portis was averaging 13.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game when he was suspended.
In all, he has missed 32 games this season (one for an elbow injury that caused him to seek pain treatment and six for the death of his grandmother). The Bucks have gone 17-15 in those games.
“You feel like a mad scientist at times, but at times you want to just being normal,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said of the different lineups the Bucks have used. “That would be nice. Bobby has one more game left, which is great.”
When asked in Miami if he’ll have to try and keep Portis’ energy levels, well, level – Rivers chuckled.
“Good luck. Good luck,” he said. “We were laughing (Saturday), I said Bobby’s gonna foul out in like three minutes in the first game back. That’s 25 games sitting. If you watched our low-minute pickup games, they are the most intense pickup games you’ve ever seen. (Saturday) was; it was full throttle (Saturday). I was like man, that guy needs to play in an NBA game soon. So, I can’t wait to see him.”
Five numbers
3: More shots the Pelicans took than the Bucks. It slowed a five-game stretch where the Bucks were out-shot by 70 by opponents. Milwaukee is 4-2 in those games, however.
8-11: AJ Green’s shooting from behind the three-point line the last three games since coming back from a sprained AC joint in his right (shooting) shoulder.
7-8: Bucks record in the second game of back-to-backs. They have one more back-to-back this season.
19-20: Bucks road record, with one more to go in the regular season. They have not been .500 away from Fiserv Forum this season since starting the year 1-1 on Oct. 27. They were 18-22 on the road last season. From 2018-23 they were one of the best teams on the road in the NBA, compiling a 123-74 (62.4%) record away from Milwaukee.
59: Games played this season by Damian Lillard, which includes the NBA Cup final. An all-star this season, he was on track for his eighth all-NBA selection before the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in his right calf sidelined him indefinitely. He would have had to have reached the 65 games played to qualify for any awards.
Is Giannis playing?
Unfortunately for the Bucks, their best player has a new injury and he is not playing vs. the Pelicans.
Giannis Antetokounmpo began the day as questionable and was downgraded to doubtful to play on the second night of a back-to-back due to pain in his left shoulder. He wore a sleeve over the shoulder against the Heat, but he’s been managing some type of pain in that arm since at least late March.
He has averaged a triple-double over his last five games.
What time is the Bucks game?
It’s a little bit of a later start, as the game tips off at 7:30 p.m.
What channel is the Bucks game on?
It will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson, and Melanie Ricks on the call.
Bucks injury report
- Bobby Portis Jr., out (league suspension)
- Jericho Sims, out (right thumb surgery)
- Damian Lillard, out (right calf deep vein thrombosis)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, out (left shoulder tendinopathy)
- Pat Connaughton, out (right ankle sprain)
Bucks starters
- Guards: Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr.
- Forwards: Kyle Kuzma, Taurean Prince
- Center: Brook Lopez
Bucks vs. Pelicans odds, over/under
Milwaukee is an 8.5-point favorite over New Orleans, and the over/under is 221.5 points per BetMGM.
Eastern Conference playoff bracket
This what the playoff bracket looks like heading into Sunday’s games:
- No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 8 Play-in winner
- No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 5 Milwaukee
- No. 2. Boston vs. No. 7 Play-in winner
- No. 3 New York vs. No. 6 Detroit
Eastern Conference playoff standings
With just a few games to go in the regular season, this is how the Eastern Conference standings look:
- Cleveland (62-15)
- Boston (57-20)
- New York (49-28)
- Indiana (46-31)
- Milwaukee (43-34)
- Detroit (43-35)
- Orlando (38-40)
- Atlanta (36-41)
- Chicago (35-42)
- Miami (35-43)
