Coming in hot on a three-game win streak, the Orlando Magic will look to help solidify their playoff standing as they travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks Sunday night.
It will be night two of a back-to-back for both teams. The Magic played Saturday night in Minnesota, where they dominated the Timberwolves 119-92 on Saturday night. The Bucks defeated the Utah Jazz 113-99 at home.
Desmond Bane led Orlando with 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor, though notably the sharpshooter did not make a 3-pointer (0-for-5). Paolo Banchero added 25 points with 15 rebounds.
The defensive end was the highlight for Orlando, which held Minnesota to its second-fewest points of the season and a 35.7% mark from the field.
“Our guards did a great job applying pressure, just locked into the game plan,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “It was a very big game plan win for our guys and they played with a level of confidence, being able to come in here and get the win.”
With the victory, the Magic moved into the coveted sixth seed in the Eastern Conference standings as they aim to get out of the play-in bracket.
Milwaukee, which continues its chase for the play-in tournament, ended its four-game skid on Saturday night as it took care of the Jazz.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way in his third straight game after returning from injury with 27 points, nine boards and eight assists in 27 minutes.
The Bucks switched up the starting lineup in favor of size, benching AJ Green in favor of Kyle Kuzma along with Ousmane Dieng, Ryan Rollins, Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner.
“Loved the starters because of the size; it took Ryan off the ball more. With Giannis, we’re trying to space the floor with our size,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “I thought we made the most advanced passes we’ve made all year.”
Rivers went on to emphasize his message to his team on playing time and why he’s switching up the rotations to find what works and what doesn’t. A 120-97 loss to the Chicago Bulls on March 1 spurred that decision.
“After that Chicago loss, we told them we’re gonna sit guys, we’re gonna move guys, whoever plays right is gonna play,” he said.
On the injury front, Anthony Black suffered a low back strain in first quarter and did not return on Saturday. He is listed as day-to-day along with Jase Richardson (back spasms) and Jonathan Isaac (knee), who both missed the Jazz game.
The Bucks remain without Kevin Porter Jr. who has swelling in his knee. There’s been no timetable placed on the return for Porter, who is averaging 17.5 points per game.
This matchup will decide the tiebreaker between these teams. They last played a baseball-like two-game series in early February in Orlando. The games were split with Orlando winning the first and the Bucks bouncing back to take the second.
Neither contest featured Antetokounmpo. In the Bucks’ victory, they were led by an outburst from Cam Thomas, who came off the bench to score 34 points in just 25 minutes.
