Milwaukee @ Oklahoma City preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 10, 2019 ) Oklahoma City 127, Milwaukee 116

The Milwaukee Bucks will try to recover from a difficult loss and clinch a winning four-game road trip when pay a visit to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. The Bucks rallied from a 20-point halftime deficit at Utah on Friday before falling 103-100 on a buzzer-beater and dropping to 2-1 on the trip.

"I think we played as hard as we could. We didn't make shots," Milwaukee forward Khris Middleton told reporters after his team shot 35.8 percent. "The guys out there gave it our all. It came down to two plays down the stretch that cost us the game." The Thunder have won three of their last four after getting past Golden State 114-108 on Saturday in the opener of a two-game homestand. Danilo Gallinari led a balanced attack with 21 points and he is 9-for-12 from 3-point range over the last two games. Oklahoma City improved to 4-2 at home and it has won three in a row at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FS Oklahoma

ABOUT THE BUCKS (6-3): MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo had a typical 30-point effort at Utah, but 28 of the points came in the second half as he led his team back in a spirited performance. "I was like, 'How bad can it get?' We're down 22," he told reporters. "I couldn't get it going but I decided to be aggressive, try and go downhill, try and shoot shots and make plays. Obviously, I was just trying to power through guys." Middleton added 26 points and 11 rebounds while making 5-of-8 3-pointers two nights after he was held to 13 points while missing all five of his 3-point tries.

ABOUT THE THUNDER (4-5): Oklahoma City led by 17 points at halftime against Golden State before losing all of the lead while giving up 41 points in the third quarter, but it got back to basics to close it out in the fourth. "Start hooping, stop thinking," guard Chris Paul, who had 16 points and nine assists, told Fox Sports Oklahoma of the team's ability to finish strong. "Just push the tempo, push the pace. Put them in ball screens and just not play so slow. I think early in the game I was sort of walking it up. Me and Dennis (Schroder) talked about pushing the tempo and that's what we did." Schroder contributed 16 points and six assists off the bench while fellow reserve Darius Bazley hit all three of his 3-pointers in 18 solid minutes.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bucks PG Eric Bledsoe has scored at least 20 points in three straight games after being held to 18 or fewer in each of his first six contests.

2. Schroder recorded 32 points and four steals in a win at Milwaukee in the finale of the 2018-19 regular season.

3. Oklahoma City has either won or tied the last 10 season series after sweeping two meetings in 2018-19.

PREDICTION: Bucks 116, Thunder 111