For the second time this season the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks will face off against one another. For the first time since last season’s first-round sweep, they will meet in Milwaukee. In general, the last time these two teams met came in the month of November with Miami winning by the final score of 118-95.
In that game, Milwaukee’s young Bucks all featured some game-time action. Nate Wolters started in place of Brandon Knight at the time (hamstring), Giannis Antetokounmpo made his first NBA 3-pt shot, while Miroslav Raduljica made his debut. This time, Wolters (fractured hand) and Antetokounmpo (sprained ankle) will not be playing. Raduljica last played on March 23, sparingly (four minutes) against the Sacramento Kings. Below are pre-game nuggets and quotes as you prepare for tonight’s matchup: Injuries - O.J. Mayo is out for tonight’s game. Mayo sprained his ankle in Los Angeles against the Clippers on Tuesday. - Giannis Antetokounmpo will play in tonight’s game after spraining his right ankle against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. (Los Angeles might have a grudge against ankles.) - Former Buck Ray Allen will not play tonight for Miami due to the stomach flu. He didn’t play in Miami when these two teams met either. - Dwyane Wade will rest his hamstring tonight and will not play. Greg Oden and Mario Chalmers are out also. Other - John Henson recorded his first NBA double-double at Miami on November 21, 2012 with 17 points and 18 rebounds. - The Bucks will only play Eastern Conference teams the rest of the way this season. Their last Western Conference matchup was on Thursday when they swept their two-game series against the Los Angeles Lakers (first since 2006-07). Quotes - Coach Larry Drew on Brandon Knight: “He’s still a really young developing player. Brandon wants to get better, he wants to learn. We challenge him at the point guard position because that’s such a vital position in the league. He still makes mistakes, but I think all that’s been said about him at the beginning, I think he really came into this thing really positive.” - Coach Larry Drew on people wanting the Bucks to lose: “I go out and coach each game to try to win. I don’t look at where we are and what our season is about right now. My job is to get these young men ready to play every single night, and to play hard.” Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. CDT.
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Above the AntlersThis blog displays my coverage as a reporter covering the Milwaukee Bucks for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
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