The Milwaukee Bucks, riding a three-game winning streak, face the Orlando Magic in Orlando on Monday night for the first of two games in three days. Both teams are dealing with key player injuries, but recent successes have boosted their momentum. Milwaukee hopes to climb toward a play-in spot, while Orlando aims to hold its seventh-place position in the East.
The Milwaukee Bucks head to Orlando buoyed by their longest win streak of the season, a three-game run that follows a period of struggles. This comes as they seek to secure a play-in tournament berth, currently on the outside looking in. Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been sidelined since January 23 due to a calf injury and was not traded before the deadline. Without him, the Bucks have a 6-14 record this season. Coach Doc Rivers remains optimistic, noting after Friday's victory over Indiana, "He's gonna play when he's healthy, we just gotta make sure he's healthy. He's getting close." Rivers also highlighted the psychological lift from winning: "Winning is like a deodorant. It covers a lot of things that stink at times."
Guard Kevin Porter Jr. echoed the sentiment, saying, "It feels good. We haven't had this feeling and been in this situation as much this year as we wanted. We're going to live in the moment and try to make it an everlasting one."
Meanwhile, the seventh-seeded Orlando Magic enter on a two-game streak, including a 120-117 comeback win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday after trailing by 17 points. They have been without leading scorer Franz Wagner, who averages 22.2 points per game and has missed nine contests since January 18 with an ankle injury. Wagner is now questionable for Monday's game. Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane have filled the scoring void, with Bane averaging 21.8 points over his last five outings and making at least one three-pointer in each of his previous 12 games.
Coach Jamahl Mosley praised his team's resilience post-Jazz game: "You have to battle through adversity... Down 17, you just go for those mini goals." This marks the first matchup between the teams this season; last year, Milwaukee won three of four encounters. Notably, Orlando's Jalen Suggs scored a career-high 32 points against the Bucks in December 2024.
The back-to-back games could test both squads' depth amid ongoing injury concerns.
