Milwaukee @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 18, 2019 ) Milwaukee 115, Chicago 101

A break in the schedule is giving Giannis Antetokounmpo time to rest an achy back while the Milwaukee Bucks continue to pile up wins. Antetokounmpo is questionable to return to the lineup when the Bucks take on their third consecutive sub-.500 foe while visiting the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Antetokounmpo sat out Friday at Atlanta and again Saturday at home against Orlando and watched his teammates breeze by the pair of struggling teams by an average of 18.5 points, led by power forward Ersan Ilyasova. "He played really, really well tonight," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters of Ilyasova, who collected 17 points, 14 rebounds and five assists while starting in place of Antetokounmpo on Saturday. "All year he's been great. Just so many nights he's given us great minutes and production." The Bulls are playing well with wins in five of their last eight games and are coming into Monday's game with some confidence after blasting the Hawks 116-81 on Saturday. "I feel like the sky's the limit for this team," Chicago center Wendell Carter Jr. told reporters after Saturday's win. "If everybody continues to stay healthy, continues to stay bought into this team and what coach (Jim) Boylen wants to do for us, we can beat anybody in this league."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), NBCS Chicago

ABOUT THE BUCKS (29-5): Ilyasova totaled 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting (7-of-8 from beyond the arc) and 31 rebounds over the last two games. "This is part of my game to always kind of bring energy," Ilyasova told reporters. "Some nights, obviously, the ball's not going to fall through the net and there's different things you can offensively and defensively like get excellent position. ... So, like I said, just try to crash the offensive glass, create extra offense for us." The Bucks are getting solid contributions from the reserves as well and watched Robin Lopez and George Hill score 17 points apiece off the bench on Saturday.

ABOUT THE BULLS (13-20): Lauri Markkanen needed only 22 minutes to score a team-high 25 points on Saturday while going 8-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. "I can do a better job of rebounding and pushing the ball, but yeah, I'm more comfortable," Markkanen, who grabbed four rebounds in the win, told reporters. "I kind of know where I'm going to get my touches and shots." Chicago got some surprise outside shooting help on Saturday from Carter, who went 2-of-3 from beyond the arc to match his total made 3-pointers from the previous 26 games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bucks PG Eric Bledsoe (leg) missed the last eight games but is expected to work out Sunday and is getting close to a return.

2. Bulls rookie G Coby White is 8-of-12 from 3-point range over the last three games.

3. Milwaukee is enjoying an eight-game winning streak in the series and pulled off a 115-101 victory at Chicago in the most recent meeting on Nov. 18.

PREDICTION: Bucks 121, Bulls 109