Bucks Zone

GAME DAY PREVIEW AND INJURY REPORT: The Milwaukee Bucks face the OKC Thunder

The new-look Bucks shoot for their third win in the preseason.

Matthew Dugandzic

© Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports
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The new-look Milwaukee Bucks look to continue building chemistry as they face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma.

Sporting a 2-1 record in the preseason, the Bucks are coming off a 108-97 win over the LA Lakers in a game that finally saw Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard play together for the first time as teammates.

Against the Lakers, Giannis and Dame showed what their tandem can do as they ended up being up extra efficient despite playing for only a combined 37 minutes.

Potent duo

Lillard finished with 14 points, two rebounds, two assists, and four steals in 22 minutes of play.

Giannis played for just 15 minutes and tallied 16 points on a superb 7-of-10 shooting night from the field. The two-time MVP also added eight boards, an assist, and two blocks.

Milwaukee coach Adrian Griffin was extremely happy with what he saw with the two All-Star teammates.

“Today was a great first step in the right direction. You can see those guys love playing together already. And not just Dame and Giannis, but everyone was just pulling for each other,” said Griffin.

The Bucks started the preseason with a 105-102 win over the Chicago Bulls, then lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in their outing, 102-108.

Milwaukee will be shooting for a second straight win against a Thunder team that has lost two of its first three preseason games.

Oklahoma got off to a winning start in the preseason after edging out the San Antonio Spurs, 122-121. The Thunder stumbled in their next two games, bowing to the Detroit Pistons, 125-128, and to the Charlotte Hornets, 115-117.

Injury report

Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton is listed as day-to-day. The veteran shooter has yet to play in the preseason.

Out for the Thunder are Cason Wallace (toe), Aleksej Pokusevski (arm), and Victor Oladipo (knee). Kenrich Williams (back) and Isaiah Joe are both game-time decisions.

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.