Bucks at Spurs
After barely being challenged in a two-game homestand, the Milwaukee Bucks will try to snap a two-game road losing streak when they visit the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. The Bucks topped Indiana and Charlotte by an average of 18 points on the homestand to become the first team to hit the 50-win mark this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points on 7-of-11 shooting with 13 rebounds in Saturday's 131-114 win over the Hornets as Milwaukee opened up a three-game lead on second-place Toronto in the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. "Once we got our focus, once we picked up our urgency both ends of the court just got a lot better," coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters after his team rallied from as many as 14 points down in the second quarter. "Luckily we were able to close the gap to finish the second quarter and put ourselves in position to just have a good outcome." The Spurs followed up a dismal 1-7 road trip with four straight wins, including a 111-104 triumph at Atlanta on Wednesday. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 32 points for San Antonio, which sits 3 1/2 games ahead of Sacramento for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West and just a half-game behind Utah along with the Los Angeles Clippers.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FS Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (50-16): Brook Lopez finished with 25 points against the Hornets while rookie guard Donte DiVincenzo provided a boost off the bench with 11 points in 18 minutes in his second game after returning from a lengthy layoff due to a heel injury. "It feels amazing just being on the court," DiVincenzo told Fox Sports Wisconsin postgame. "Thankfully I played well tonight and these guys got me open, but just being on the court is amazing." Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists in a 135-129 win over the Spurs at home earlier this season.
ABOUT THE SPURS (37-29): Aldridge teamed with guard Derrick White to propel the Spurs to the win over the Hawks, with White recording 18 points, nine assists and six blocked shots. "Man, he played great," Aldridge told reporters of White. "Six blocks - I don't know if I've ever had that many blocks as a big, so it's kind of impressive. He just ran the offense, made the right reads. ... That's just him. I don't get surprised anymore. I've been a fan since Day One." The 24-year-old White is averaging 14.5 points on 54.3 percent shooting over his last four games and has 18 assists with just two turnovers over his last two.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Antetokounmpo went 18-for-18 from the foul line during the two-game homestand.
2. Spurs SG DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points in the first matchup with the Bucks this season.
3. Milwaukee has won four straight meetings.