The Milwaukee Bucks return home after a strenuous road trip to welcome the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night.
It was a 1-3 trip out West for the Bucks, who lost to the Clippers, Trail Blazers and 144-118 to the Spurs in San Antonio on Friday night.
The Spurs set a season-high in scoring, led by 30 points from Victor Wembanyama, who was dueling with Giannis Antetokounmpo and his 35.
Doc Rivers didn’t mince words about his team’s defensive performance after the game.
“We gave up 17 points in the first four minutes of the game, to me that set the tone,” Rivers said. “When they went into halftime, they felt great. We’ve been a great defensive team, but on this trip we have not been. We got to figure it out.”
Memphis avoided the season-series sweep against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, pulling away with a 120-119 win at home without Ja Morant able to play.
Desmond Bane led Memphis — which has won seven of its last eight games — with 24 points, 12 boards and six assists.
Head coach Taylor Jenkins talked about what his team needs to improve on, which the Rockets exposed in their series this season.
“Our defense has got to improve. We got to get better at our shift rotations, on ball defense, second-chance points,” Jenkins said. “When you play the Rockets, they’re going to test a lot of the things we’ve got to get better at.”
All-Star reserve Jaren Jackson Jr. leads Memphis with 22.8 points per game this season, while Zach Edey leads with 7.3 boards per game and Desmond Bane is the top playmaker with 5.5 assists.
Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee with 31.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per contest. Damian Lillard averages 7.3 assists and 1.2 steals. Both were selected as Eastern Conference All-Stars.
On the injury front, Milwaukee was without bench big man Bobby Portis for the four-game trip due to personal reasons. He will miss Sunday’s game in Milwaukee.
“That hurts; we’re asking too much out of him, that’s for sure,” Rivers said regarding Brook Lopez’s usage without Portis on the floor these last few games. “I thought he looked tired, the whole team did in a lot of ways.”
Morant (shoulder) did not play Thursday. He is doubtful to return on Sunday. Vince Williams Jr. (ankle), Marcus Smart (finger) and Cam Spencer (thumb) all remain out.
Memphis is a team that has given Milwaukee fits in recent years, as they have won six in a row against the Bucks.
Earlier this season, Memphis took the first matchup of this two-game set by a final of 122-99 in Memphis on Halloween.
Morant led seven Grizzlies who scored in double figures with 26 points, while Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 37. Notably, Lillard scored just four points on 1-for-12 shooting from the field.
The Grizzlies are nearly a top-five team on both ends of the ball, ranking fifth in offensive rating, fifth in NET rating and seventh in defensive rating.
Memphis also finds success getting out on the run, leading the NBA in pace, miles per game and average speed.
