Milwaukee @ Indiana preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 7, 2019 ) Indiana 98, Milwaukee 117

Reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing like a guy interested in being a repeat winner. Antetokounmpo is seeking his seventh straight game of at least 30 points and 10 rebounds when the Milwaukee Bucks visit the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

Antetokounmpo matched his season high of 38 points and also had 16 rebounds and three steals to help the Bucks knock off the visiting Chicago Bulls 124-115 on Thursday for their sixth win in the past seven games. "I think the team realized in order to win (against Chicago), we got to drive the ball into the paint and get some paint points," Antetokounmpo told reporters after his club had a 70-32 edge in interior points. Indiana saw a four-game winning streak come to an end on Friday when it fell 111-102 to the Houston Rockets. Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon departed with a lower-back injury in the opening quarter and he could miss the game against the Bucks, the team he played for the past three seasons.

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

ABOUT THE BUCKS (8-3): The game against Chicago was Milwaukee's first without second-leading scorer Khris Middleton (thigh) and point guard Eric Bledsoe helped fill the scoring gap with a season-best 31 points. Bledsoe, who also had eight assists, was 12-of-14 shooting while recording his fifth straight 20-point outing. "I was just getting some easy looks, man," Bledsoe told reporters afterward. "My teammates do a great job of spacing the court. The way they shot the ball leaves gaps for me to drive and it is up to me to make those shots."

ABOUT THE PACERS (7-5): Losing Brogdon against the Rockets was a big blow for Indiana as it was lacking the type of guard who could defend James Harden, who finished with 44 points. "You not only need him offensively, but you need his size defensively." Pacers coach Nate McMillan said afterward of Brogdon. "I thought our guys worked hard and gave us all that they had. We were sitting there right in that game late in the fourth with an opportunity - if you execute, get some stops, we have a chance to win it. We didn't play well enough down the stretch to win this game." Whether Brogdon can play won't be known until sometime Saturday while center Myles Turner (ankle) is likely to miss his ninth straight contest.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Bucks went 3-1 against the Pacers last season.

2. Indiana PF Domantas Sabonis recorded 18 points and 13 rebounds against Houston for his sixth straight double-double and eighth of the campaign.

3. Milwaukee G George Hill is averaging 4.3 points on 4-of-13 shooting over a three-game span since scoring a season-best 24 versus the Los Angeles Clippers.

PREDICTION: Bucks 114, Pacers 109