With former Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo back in the lineup, the Milwaukee Bucks aim to replicate their recent road surge when they host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Washington serves as the penultimate opponent Milwaukee faces at home before embarking on a four-game trek through the Western Conference that comes on the heels of a 3-2 road trip that concluded Monday. Overall, the Bucks are playing 11 of 14 on the road from Dec. 21 through Jan. 19.
Milwaukee can leverage its brief, two-game homestand to extend a stretch that has given life to the Eastern Conference’s 11th-place team. The Bucks are trying to chip away at a rough start that has them five games below .500 ahead of Washington’s visit.
Milwaukee comes into Wednesday’s contest with back-to-back wins and three victories in its last four outings — all against opponents languishing with the Bucks in the lower half of the East — Indiana, Chicago and Charlotte. Washington and Friday’s rematch with Charlotte continue the trend.
Antetokounmpo, who missed the previous eight games with a calf strain, returned for Saturday’s 112-103 win over the Bulls. Antetokounmpo scored the final two of his 29 points (while on a 25-minute time restriction) with a dunk after the outcome was no longer in doubt, resulting in a scuffle between the two teams.
Antetokounmpo followed up on Monday with 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor and seven assists in a 123-113 win at Charlotte.
“I keep myself to a high standard. I want to maximize when I’m out there,” Antetokounmpo said of playing within the parameters of his minutes restriction. “If I can affect the game defensively, if I can affect the game offensively, it doesn’t matter if I play 34 (minutes)…or 24, I want to make my presence be felt.”
Although his 28.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game are Antetokounmpo’s lowest averages since 2018-19 and 2016-17, respectively, the nine-time All-NBA forward leads Milwaukee in both categories. Kevin Porter Jr. has scored 18.8 points per game since joining the lineup after recovering from a knee injury while breakout scoring threat Ryan Rollins at 17.1 points per game.
Former Wizard Kyle Kuzma is averaging 13.2 points per game, primarily coming off the bench, but he struggled offensively in the last two games with 12 and six points on a combined 7-of-17 shooting from the floor.
He will look to contribute against his former team as Milwaukee tries to avenge a 129-126 loss to the Wizards on Dec. 1 in Washington.
CJ McCollum scored 28 points and Marvin Bagley III finished with 22 points and eight rebounds as Washington evened the season series. Milwaukee won the first meeting in the Oct. 22 season opener, 133-120.
Wednesday’s road date interrupts a stretch for the Wizards playing six of seven at home. Washington beat Toronto and Memphis last Friday and Sunday — scoring the team’s first consecutive victories this season — but dropped a 115-101 decision on Monday versus Phoenix.
In that game, Tre Johnson shot 9 of 12 from the floor on his way to 24 points, a career-high for the rookie out of the University of Texas. Johnson has scored in double figures in six consecutive games, bumping his average to 12.1 points per game.
“Really just try to play off my teammates, create open shots for myself moving off the ball and find little ways to score,” Johnson said.
He is one of seven Wizards averaging double figures, though no one averages more than McCollum’s 18.6 per game.
