The Sacramento Kings seek to close out an unbeaten road trip and extend the league’s longest winning streak when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
The Kings have won seven in a row, including triumphs at Boston and Chicago to start their current three-game trip, but haven’t won at Milwaukee since November of 2015.
The Bucks’ eighth consecutive home win over Sacramento was the closest of the bunch, a 143-142 overtime thriller exactly one year ago Tuesday that required a 32-foot buzzer-beater by Damian Lillard in the extra session.
That was the Kings’ 15th straight loss to Milwaukee, a streak they ended with authority two months later with a 129-94 home romp.
The teams haven’t played since.
Balanced scoring has been the driving force in Sacramento’s first two wins on its trip. DeMar DeRozan (45 total points), Domantas Sabonis (45), Malik Monk (40) and Keegan Murray (33) have all averaged 16.5 points or better at Boston and Chicago, while De’Aaron Fox returned from a three-game absence due to a bruised right glute to contribute 26 points to Sunday’s 124-119 victory over the Bulls.
Having had a day off after the win at Chicago, the Kings roll into Milwaukee in high gear. Part of that, several players have indicated, is due to less-taxing practice sessions since Doug Christie replaced Mike Brown as coach.
Christie, a former player, says that’s by design.
“When I was with the Kings, we played a similar style — super fast,” he explained. “So you as coach have to be cognizant of how to approach practice. I just try to observe, keep my ear to the street, and try to get a good feel for who they are and what they need more than anything, and get myself out of the way.”
Added veteran backup Kevin Huerter, “Talking to some of the guys who play heavier minutes, they definitely feel more fresh to start games. Just the grind of the season … as much as it’s a physical grind, it’s a mental grind. In some ways we pump the brakes a little bit, but still trusting us to get our work in. It’s been well received.”
The Bucks had won three in a row before running into a buzzsaw in New York on Sunday, falling 140-106 to the Knicks.
The loss was Milwaukee’s eighth straight this season against the top three teams in the East — Cleveland, Boston and New York. The Kings aren’t among the Western leaders, but their winning streak makes them a challenge, one the Bucks look forward to accepting.
“You can’t just beat the OK teams and not-so-good teams,” veteran Khris Middleton professed. “You have to beat all teams — great teams, the good teams, in-between, everything. We gotta figure out a way to beat the better teams and I think we will.”
The game pits the league’s leading rebounder, Sabonis (14.2 per game), against the leading scorer, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (31.4 points per game).
Sabonis has recorded 16 straight double-doubles, including a 28-rebound effort Friday in Boston. Antetokounmpo has nine straight double-doubles.
Sabonis averaged 21.5 points and 12.0 rebounds in last season’s split against the Bucks. Antetokounmpo countered with 28.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.