With the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference locked up, the Milwaukee Bucks are expected to rest two starters against the Thunder on Wednesday night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez are both expected to sit in the regular season finale due to load management, according to Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Antetokounmpo most recently played on Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks but will sit on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Lopez has appeared in all 81 games for the Bucks up until this point.
With Antetokounmpo and Lopez out of the lineup, the Thunder will be 4.5-point favorites in the contest. A win against the Bucks will clinch the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
While the Bucks are resting two starters, Paul George said after beating the Houston Rockets on Tuesday that the Thunder are looking to finish the season off strong with a win.
All in. Last game of the year. We’re playing well. We picked up another big win tonight. All in going into tomorrow. We gotta finish the season off. It’s on us regardless of what they do over there – who’s playing, who’s in or out. It’s about our approach and that approach starts now.
The Thunder defeated the Bucks in the previous meeting on Jan. 27 as George scored 36 points to lead OKC. Antetokoumpo had 27 in that meeting while Lopez dropped in five 3-pointers for 19 points.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. CT and can be seen on FS OK.
