Khris Middleton will be intent on slowing down old friends when the Washington Wizards play host to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
Washington comes in off two NBA Cup group play games last week. After picking up just their second win of the season against the Atlanta Hawks 132-113 on Tuesday, they fell on the road to the Indiana Pacers 119-86 on Friday.
Alex Sarr led Washington with 23 points and nine rebounds against Indiana, while Middleton added 12 points with four assists.
“We couldn’t get into our pace, we weren’t getting stops. We weren’t getting into our actions with thrust,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. “We weren’t sharp, we weren’t flying around like we’re capable of.”
Sarr leads the Wizards with 19.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. CJ McCollum is just behind him with 17.8 points per game.
Antetokounmpo’s return from an adductor strain has been massive for Milwaukee as he averages 30.9 points, 10.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists to lead the team. Ryan Rollins has added 17.9 points and 5.9 assists.
The Bucks put an end to their longest losing streak since the 2013-14 season on Saturday by taking down the Brooklyn Nets 116-99 in Milwaukee.
Still on a minutes restriction after his injury, Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 29 points and eight boards in just under 19 minutes.
Kevin Porter Jr made his return from surgery after he came away with right meniscus injury in the season opener against the Wizards. He scored 13 points against the Nets with a team-high six assists.
“(Porter) surprised me with his conditioning and how sharp he looked,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “You have three ball handlers now, that was our plan to start the season then with the injuries that all went away. It was good to see it.”
AJ Green added 15 points for Milwaukee on 5-of-7 shooting. He has 11 total 3-pointers over his past two games after knocking down six at New York on Friday. The Bucks have made at least 16 shots from 3-point range in each of the past two games.
The Wizards’ Corey Kispert came away with a thumb injury Tuesday and will miss a few weeks. Washington’s Tre Johnson strained his left hip flexor and does not have a timetable for return.
With the return of Antetokounmpo and Porter, the lone player on Milwaukee’s injury report is Taurean Prince (herniated disc) who remains out indefinitely.
Milwaukee started their season with a 133-120 victory over Washington in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo led all players with 37 points and 14 rebounds, while Middleton had 23 points against his former team.
Middleton has scored in double-figures six times in the 14 games he has played. The three-time All-Atar has averaged 9.7 points on 47.4% shooting from the floor.
The Bucks have won four in a row over the Wizards and 19 of the last 22 going back to 2019 against their Eastern Conference foe.
