Milwaukee @ San Antonio preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 10, 2017 ) Milwaukee 109, San Antonio 107

The San Antonio Spurs are winners of three in a row and are coming off one of their best offensive performances of the young season. The Spurs will try to maintain that level on offense and pick things up on the other end when they host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

San Antonio shot 53.6 percent from the floor in Tuesday's 120-107 win over Los Angeles but allowed the Clippers to shoot 51.2 percent. "We've still got a long way to go defensively," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after the win. "We made shots tonight. Had 33 assists, which is a great, unselfish game. Really good. And a lot of people participated. Making shots does make things simpler, but the ball moved, the pace was better, but our defense still needs to get better. That'll take some time." The Bucks have a few things to work out on the defensive end as well after allowing the Cleveland Cavaliers to shoot 50 percent from the field in a 124-119 loss on Tuesday -- their fourth consecutive setback. "Just got to stop fouling," Antetokounmpo told reporters after the loss in Cleveland. "I think we did a bad job giving them easy fouls. ... We've got to do a better job of not fouling and being solid on defense."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), CW35 (San Antonio)

ABOUT THE BUCKS (4-6): Milwaukee hopes to have Eric Bledsoe in uniform on Friday after acquiring the point guard from the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday in exchange for veteran center Greg Monroe and draft picks. Bledsoe was benched by the Suns after the third game for publicly displaying his displeasure with the organization and averaged 15.7 points and three assists in those first three contests after putting up career highs of 21.1 points and 6.3 assists in 66 games last season. "He's a great player, he's a great guy, too," Antetokounmpo told reporters of Bledsoe. "I'm looking forward to meeting him in San Antonio. ... I think he's going to help the team and I think he's going to make the game easier for everybody."

ABOUT THE SPURS (7-4): San Antonio would have fewer problems on the defensive end with Kawhi Leonard on the floor, but the 2015-16 NBA Defensive Player of the Year has yet to play this season while dealing with a quadriceps injury. "He's just coming along more slowly for whatever reason," Popovich told reporters in comparing Leonard's rehab to point guard Tony Parker (quad), who also has yet to play this season. "It's just been more difficult for him to get through the rehab routine. So, his body hasn't reacted the same way as Tony. I wouldn't want (Leonard) to go right from rehab to jumping on the court. He's got to go three-on-three, five-on-five, feel comfortable because in the end, that confidence is what's going to ... anybody who's been out for any length of time has to get that back; even if the doctors say, 'Yep, you're ready to go.' You're really not until you're mentally ready to go." LaMarcus Aldridge is leading the team in Leonard's absence with averages of 22.6 points and 8.3 rebounds.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Spurs SF Rudy Gay matched a season high with 22 points on Tuesday and reached the 20-point plateau for the second time in three games.

2. Bucks PG Malcolm Brogdon is averaging 21 points in the last three games and is 9-of-15 from 3-point range in that span.

3. The teams split two meetings last season, with Milwaukee earning a 109-107 win at San Antonio on Jan. 10.

PREDICTION: Spurs 115, Bucks 108