Bucks at Thunder
Russell Westbrook continues to make individual history but is more interested in guiding his team to wins and locking up the best possible seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder will try to avoid a third straight setback when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.
Westbrook recorded his 40th triple-double of the season on Sunday and is one away from tying the record set by Oscar Robertson in 1961-62, but the Thunder suffered a 113-101 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets and saw their chances at the No. 5 seed in the West grow slimmer. "We have to win, that's my thoughts," Westbrook responded when asked about the upcoming personal milestones. The Bucks have to win as well and sit in fifth place in the East, one game ahead of sixth-place Atlanta and two up on No. 7 Chicago, after suffering a disappointing 109-105 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. "I think we weren't who we are today," All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo told reporters after the loss. "We didn't do what we usually do. That's a game, we move on. We know how important these last five games are for us."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Oklahoma
ABOUT THE BUCKS (40-37): Sunday marked just the fourth loss in the last 18 games for Milwaukee, which opens a three-game road trip on Tuesday. The Bucks allowed the Mavericks, who rank last in the NBA in scoring offense (98.0 points), to shoot 52.1 percent from the floor in the setback and were upset about the effort on the defensive end after the contest. "I think it's pretty obvious watching us that we're at our best when we get out and play defense," point guard Matthew Dellavedova told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We can get out and run. That's when we're sharing the ball and that's our identity."
ABOUT THE THUNDER (43-33): Oklahoma City is just 1 1/2 games ahead of the seventh-place Grizzlies and will begin a four-game road trip at Memphis on Wednesday before closing out the regular season at home against Denver on Apr. 12. Westbrook needs 11 rebounds and 29 assists over the final six games to clinch a triple-double average for the season but is also trending up in turnovers and committed eight in each of the last two games. "Just making bad mistakes and bad decisions on that part, starting with myself," Westbrook told reporters. "Just got to take better care of the ball."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bucks rookie G Malcolm Brogdon missed the last two games with soreness in his lower back and is day-to-day.
2. Thunder SG Victor Oladipo is 5-of-20 from 3-point range over the last three games.
3. Milwaukee topped Oklahoma City 98-94 at home on Jan. 2 behind 26 points from Antetokounmpo.