Bucks at Wizards
The Washington Wizards hope to find the answers to containing star swingman Giannis Antetokounmpo when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night. Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 39 in a 123-96 rout of the Wizards on Friday and is averaging almost 29 points in his last seven games as the Bucks attempt to climb in the Eastern Conference standings.
“What was special about Giannis (Friday) is we didn’t call his number,” Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd told reporters. “The ball found him. He did the hard work by putting the ball in the basket.” Kidd said Antetokounmpo, who averages 23.4 points, nine rebounds and 5.8 assists overall, is not settling for jump shots while getting to the free-throw line and putting pressure on the defense more. Washington is 10-6 at home, including a 110-105 triumph against Milwaukee on Dec. 10, and needs to refocus after point guard John Wall told reporters his team got “whupped” in every category by the Bucks on Friday. “Sometimes you get beat like this,” Wizards forward Markieff Morris told the media Friday. “Just one of those games you throw away. The best thing about it, we’ve got them (Monday).”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (14-14): Most of the offense has come through Antetokounmpo (shooting 52.5 percent from the field) and forward Jabari Parker, who is averaging 20.1 points - 24.2 the last six contests - and connecting on 49 percent of his shots. Rookie guard Malcolm Brogdon stepped up to score a season-high 17 points off the bench Friday, draining all seven of his shots from the field - three of them from behind the arc. Forward Michael Beasley (foot) has missed five straight games while guard Rashad Vaughn (ankle) sat out Friday, and both are questionable.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (13-16): Washington had scored at least 100 points in seven straight games before being held four under that mark by Milwaukee on Friday and allowed 56.3 percent shooting from the field. Wall leads the team in scoring (23.5) while standing among the top three in the league in assists (9.7) and steals (2.26), but has missed all 12 attempts from 3-point range over the last four contests. Bradley Beal has also been cold from behind the arc (5-for-23 over the last three games), but pours in 22.2 points per game to give Washington one of the league’s top backcourts.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Washington C Marcin Gortat has drained 42-of-66 from the field with four double-doubles the last seven games.
2. Milwaukee F Greg Monroe has registered two of his six double-doubles on the season in the last four contests.
3. The Wizards had won seven of the previous nine meetings before splitting the first two this season.