Talented big men and rival guards will be the featured matchups when the Milwaukee Bucks conclude a four-game road trip to California with a matchup against the host Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.
The Bucks bounced back from back-to-back road losses to the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers with a 124-117 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday afternoon. Damian Lillard scored 35 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 34 in the victory.
Hours later, the Kings saw a two-game winning streak wiped out by a 112-104 loss at home to the Houston Rockets. Domantas Sabonis had 25 points and 15 rebounds while De’Aaron Fox had 18 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Tuesday’s game is a rematch of one of the most entertaining games of the NBA season. On January 14 in Milwaukee, Fox forced overtime with a layup in the final second of regulation before Lillard drilled a 32-footer at the buzzer in the extra session for a 143-142 victory.
Lillard finished with 29 points, while Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Meanwhile, Fox won his individual scoring battle against Lillard 32-29, while Sabonis matched Antetokounmpo’s triple-double with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists.
Dual triple-doubles occurred for the first time in the 20-game history of the Antetokounmpo-Sabonis rivalry, and it was one of two NBA games this season to feature multiple triple-doubles. Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics and Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets accomplished the feat on January 21.
Sabonis’ triple-double was his second in a row against Milwaukee, as he had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists when the Kings lost at home to the Bucks 133-124 last March. Antetokounmpo had 46 points in that one.
The Bucks star has a 3-2 lead over Sabonis in triple-doubles, as well as advantages in wins (15-5), points per game (26.6-15.5), rebounds per game (11.8-9.8). and assists per game (5.9-5.2).
This rivalry dates back to Sabonis’ days with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers. Likewise, the 15 previous Lillard-Fox matchups include Lillard’s 11 seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Lillard and Fox have each scored 20 or more points in their last six head-to-head meetings. Overall, Lillard has the advantage in wins (10-5), points per game (29.1-20.1) and assists per game (7.5-6.4).
Lillard averaged 27.7 points in the first three games of the Bucks’ trip, and he had 41 in a home win over the Clippers on March 4. He credits a developing pick-and-roll game with Antetokounmpo as the key.
“To start the season, I think a lot of people wanted it to happen right away,” Lillard said. “But I think any time you put two guys together who have always been the decision-makers, who have always had their hands on the ball for years and years, it’s going to take time for us to learn how to play with each other. other. “.
The Kings have lost four of their last seven games to find themselves in contention for play-in status in the Western Conference. Coach Mike Brown blamed Sunday’s loss to the Rockets on a lack of ball distribution — Fox had just one assist.
“We don’t do a great job spraying the ball,” Brown said. “We’re keeping it in the paint too long or we’re trying to score through traffic in the paint. We need to get back to moving that ball and getting easy shots because easy shots and/or sprays for us lead to the big ones three.”
