Grizzlies at Bucks
If Giannis Antetokounmpo is ever having an off night, at least the Milwaukee Bucks know they can lean on center Brook Lopez for some offensive fireworks. Lopez will try to follow up a record-setting performance and lead the Bucks to another win when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
Lopez scored a game-high 28 points and matched an NBA record for a seven-footer by making eight 3-pointers in a 121-114 win at Denver on Sunday that closed out a four-game West Coast road trip. "Man, it's a sight to see a big shoot like that," Milwaukee point guard Eric Bledsoe told reporters of Lopez, who knocked down 6-of-7 from beyond the arc in the third quarter alone. "It was exciting, man. Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) look out." The Grizzlies will play four of their next six games on the road after suffering their first home loss, 96-88 to the Utah Jazz on Monday. "I always think that there's room for improvement in a lot of areas, offensively mainly," Memphis center Marc Gasol told reporters. "Offensively I don't think we are there yet, but we are working on it. Everybody has to bring things to work with one another."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS South (Memphis), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (7-5): Small forward Kyle Anderson made a name for himself as a player willing to do the small things to help a team win when he was with the San Antonio Spurs, and he is displaying those same traits in his first season in Memphis. Anderson is averaging just 5.8 points but grabbed 13 rebounds in each of the last two contests and handed out a team-high five assists in Monday's setback. Anderson is helping to open things up for point guard Mike Conley, who averaged 28 points in the last two games.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (10-3): Milwaukee knocked off two of the top teams in the Western Conference on its just-completed trip - Golden State and Denver - and Antetokounmpo was impressed with the way his team battled. "We do not want to be a good team, we want to be a great team," Antetokounmpo told reporters. "Great teams, no matter what, come back. You've got to keep fighting, keep playing within your game plan and you hope things are going to work, you hope you can knock down shots and that's what we did." Antetokounmpo shot 58 percent on the road trip and is averaging 25.4 points, 13 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bucks PG Malcolm Brogdon scored 20 or more points in each of the last three games.
2. Grizzlies SF Omri Casspi (knee) sat out the last four games and remains day-to-day.
3. Antetokounmpo averaged 23.5 points in a pair of wins over Memphis last season.