Bucks and Thunder Set for Interconference Showdown
The Milwaukee Bucks take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center on Friday night.

The Bucks (49-31) are trying to keep a hold of the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference while playing without several key players, and they check into Friday's contest with back-to-back wins. Their most recent success came Wednesday night, when they topped the Orlando Magic by a 117-99 score. Bobby Portis led the Bucks with 30 points, adding nine rebounds, three assists and five steals. Damian Lillard supplied 29 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Jae Crowder delivered 14 points, four rebounds, one assist and one block. Patrick Beverley managed 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and one steal. Brook Lopez finished with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists, three blocks and one steal.

The Bucks will remain without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) and AJ Green (ankle) for Friday's game. Khris Middleton (ankle), Lopez (rest) and MarJon Beauchamp (ankle) will carry questionable tags, while Lillard (groin) will be listed as doubtful.

The Thunder (55-25) are just one game back of the top-seeded Denver Nuggets with two games to go, and they've kept themselves in the running by rattling off three consecutive wins. Their most recent success came Wednesday night, when they throttled the San Antonio Spurs by a 127-89 score. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 26 points, adding six rebounds and five assists. Josh Giddey generated a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double that included seven assists and one steal. Gordon Hayward netted 18 points, while Jalen Williams recorded 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block.

The Thunder will likely list Luguentz Dort (rest) as questionable or probable for Friday's game.

Friday's game marks the second and final meeting between the teams this season. The Bucks hold a 1-0 series lead.
Posted on: 4/11/2024 8:23 PM