Bucks at Lakers
The Milwaukee Bucks generated plenty of positive momentum when they knocked off the Golden State Warriors on Saturday and will try to carry that onto the road. The Bucks kick off a four-game West Coast swing with a visit to the lowly Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
"We head west, and this is the bar that hopefully we have set that we can hold ourselves accountable," Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd told reporters. "We've got to give this type of effort, win or lose. We've got to help one another. They showed it on a back-to-back against the best in the league right now. In that locker room those guys have to hold each other accountable." Accountability and more triple-doubles from Giannis Antetokounmpo will certainly help Milwaukee on the trip, which includes a stop at Golden State on Friday. The Lakers have dropped six straight in their latest skid and closed up the eight-game road trip by falling at San Antonio and Houston by a combined 51 points. Los Angeles has allowed at least 100 points in 14 straight games as the Kobe Bryant retirement tour staggers around the bottom of the Western Conference.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), TWC SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (10-15): Kidd praised the defensive effort after the win on Saturday and is getting the team to buy into his message on that end of the floor. "With Giannis, Jabari (Parker), me and Michael (Carter-Williams), Khris (Middleton), we're all interchangeable in a lot of positions on the floor,” guard O.J. Mayo told reporters. “Defensively we can hold our own. It's all about being focused and bringing that type of effort and energy every night." That defense harassed the Warriors into 17 turnovers and limited the best 3-point shooting team in the NBA to 6-of-26 from beyond the arc.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (3-21): Bryant enjoyed a rare decent shooting night with 26 points on 9-of-16 from the field on Saturday but Los Angeles got little from its bench in the 126-97 setback against Houston. “I thought our second unit was terrible,” Lakers coach Byron Scott told reporters. “They came in and all the momentum kind of shifted. They didn’t come in with the same type of energy and the same type of purpose.” One of those reserves was forward Julius Randle, who was recently demoted from the starting lineup and is 5-of-20 from the field in the last two games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Lakers snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with a 101-93 home triumph on Feb. 27.
2. Milwaukee F Jabari Parker scored in double figures in six straight games.
3. Los Angeles G Jordan Clarkson (ankle) sat out the last two games and is not expected to return Tuesday.