The Milwaukee Bucks will search to enhance their positioning within the playoffs after they expressed a 5 -game street journey Tuesday night in San Francisco towards the Golden State Warriors.
The Bucks (38-29) will take the court docket for the opening of the journey to the Indiana Pacers for the fourth place of the Japanese Convention, the final place which obtains the benefit of the sector at dwelling within the first spherical of the playoffs.
Getting out a 121-105 dwelling loss towards Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder on Sunday after beating the Los Angeles Lakers and Pacers, Milwaukee is 5 video games behind the New York Knicks, however only a match earlier than the sixth place in Detroit Pistons.
If there was a message transmitted by the Doc Rivers coach on the flight of Milwaukee to San Francisco, it’s that every match counts any longer.
“There are matches you have got in a single yr {that a} group contains the greatness of the sport and the opposite group,” mentioned Rivers after the defeat towards the Thunder. “We may discuss all these different issues. I believe it was the distinction. You possibly can really feel it); You possibly can see it. “
The Bucks may also see Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets – All of the contenders for the playoffs – throughout their 9 -day journey.
The Warriors, one night time after being rolled by Aaron Gordon of the Nuggets, should face a booming antetokounmpo Giannis, who had a triple-double towards Oklahoma Metropolis (21 factors, 12 rebounds, 10 help).
The candidate for the perennial MVP scored 30 factors or extra in 4 of his final seven video games and has dropped the 2 -digit rebounds 10 occasions in his final 12 video games. He had one other triple-double on March 4 in Atlanta.
Antetokounmpo stayed with a tense calf when the Warriors received 125-111 in Milwaukee in February. He collected a median of 29.4 factors in his final 5 video games towards Golden State.
The defeat on Monday was costly for the Warriors (39-29), who had the prospect to make a match on Minnesota of their duel for sixth place within the West. The Timberwolves had misplaced earlier at night time towards the Pacers.
Regardless of the combustion of Stephen Curry for 36 minutes and Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Inexperienced for 33 every towards the Nuggets, the coach of Golden State Steve Kerr famous that there was an excessive amount of at this late stage of the season to relaxation anybody.
“We have been in a position to hold them most of 35 minutes most,” mentioned Kerr about his three fundamental 30 years. “I believe the minutes are good; we play 10 folks. I’m not nervous about it. We now have to enter the playoffs. We can’t fear about a couple of minutes and there. We don’t have this luxurious.”
Butler, who began his profession as a rival of Bucks whereas he was with the Chicago Bulls, contributed 20 factors, 9 rebounds, six assists and 4 interceptions to the victory in Milwaukee final month in his second match with Golden State.
Butler collected 23 factors on Monday towards Denver, the primary time he led the group by scoring 16 video games in Warriors uniform.
–Area degree
