The Oklahoma City Thunder wraps up a 4-game road trip on Wednesday with a final stop in Milwaukee to take on the Bucks. OKC is 2-1 on the trip so far after picking up a dominant 136-104 win in Cleveland over the Cavs on Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Bucks are back at home for a few games after playing 11 of their last 14 games on the road. Milwaukee has struggled this season, but they have a better record at home (9-10) than on the road (9-14).
Giannis Antetoukounmpo is as dominant as he ever has been, averaging 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game, all team-highs. Slowing him down will be key for the OKC, but the Thunder cannot forget about Milwaukee’s ability to knock down shots from downtown. At 39.4% from three, the Bucks shoot the 2nd-highest percentage in the NBA right now, just barely behind the Denver Nuggets. Milwaukee has 6 guys who are shooting above 40% with at least one attempt per game, but A.J. Green is the one to keep an eye on. At 43.7% on 6.9 attempts per game, Green will be a key factor if the Bucks want to have a chance at the reigning NBA Champs.
The Thunder saw Jaylin Williams and Alex Caruso exit early in Monday’s game in Cleveland, and while they hopefully won’t be out for too long, OKC will have to deal with their continued lack of size. Oklahoma City is the second-most-injured team in the entire NBA, but the Thunder has navigated the season well so far, sitting comfortably atop the standings behind reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s consistent play. At this point, it would be nice to just make it to the All-Star Break so that guys can get healthy, but there is still plenty of basketball to be played before then, so, as is typical Thunder fashion, they just need to take it one night at a time and keep stacking wins.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 8:30 PM CT
Location: Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Television: ESPN
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Milwaukee Bucks Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Aaron Wiggins
- C: Chet Holmgren
Bucks
- PG: Ryan Rollins
- SG: A.J. Green
- SF: Kyle Kuzma
- PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
- C: Myles Turner
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (strained right adductor) is OUT
- Isaiah Hartenstein (strained left soleus) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (strained right hamstring) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (left glut contusion) is QUESTIONABLE.
Bucks
- Alex Antetokounmpo (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Kevin Porter Jr. (strained oblique muscle) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Taurean Prince (neck surgery) is OUT.
- Myles Turner (sprained left ankle) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 17-16 against the Bucks in the regular season (9-7 at home, 8-9 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Bucks 5 times, lost it 4 times, and tied it 7 times.
- The Thunder went 2-0 against the Bucks last year (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road). Milwaukee did beat OKC in the NBA Cup Final, but that does not count towards official records.