The Milwaukee Bucks will set out to turn their frustrations from a blowout home loss into motivation to get back on the winning track Thursday when they visit the stumbling San Antonio Spurs.
The Bucks head to the Alamo City after getting all but run out of Milwaukee on Tuesday when they took a 139-106 defeat at the hands of a short-handed Minnesota team. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 25 points and a team-best eight rebounds while Bobby Portis, starting in place of an ill Myles Turner, added 14 points and Kevin Porter Jr. hit for 13 points.
The Bucks were booed by their home fans as they left the court for halftime trailing by 31 points. Antetokounmpo booed back at the crowd after being fouled early in the third quarter but the exchange did little to turn the tide for Milwaukee, which went on to lose its second straight contest and its third in the past four games.
“Whenever I get booed, I boo back,” said Antetokounmpo, who said Tuesday’s game was the first time he can remember being booed at home. “It doesn’t matter — I play basketball for my teammates. I play basketball for myself and my family.
“I think we didn’t play hard. We didn’t do the right things. We didn’t play as a team. It’s not much you can take away from this game. You just got to kind of forget about it, take all the things that you did do well, try to improve on it and go to the next one.”
The Spurs return home carrying their own two-game losing streak, with the latest setback being a 119-98 decision in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. San Antonio had defeated the Thunder, who hold the NBA’s best record, the first three times the teams played this season but were undone in Tuesday’s third quarter when Oklahoma City turned a three-point halftime lead into a 19-point advantage.
It was the first time this season the Spurs were held under 100 points. San Antonio, which shot just 40% from the floor in the loss, has dropped six of its past 10 games since beating Oklahoma City on Christmas Day.
“The plan, the execution (was not good) and in the third quarter, obviously, is when (Thunder) hopped on it and got some separation,” San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. “But I don’t think we were very sharp from the beginning.
“These games will help us and these games will be learning experiences that we need to go through, clearly. They will serve us well, and it’s our job to make sure we maximize the learning moments from these games.”
Stephon Castle paced the Spurs with 20 points in Tuesday’s loss while Victor Wembanyama added 17, De’Aaron Fox tallied 14, Julian Champagnie had 13 and Dylan Harper scored 12.
Thursday’s contest is the first of two between the Bucks and San Antonio, with the Spurs traveling to Milwaukee for the rematch on March 28.
