In sight of top spot, Spurs to work on ‘improvements’ vs. Bucks
The San Antonio Spurs continue their chase for the best record in the NBA when they square off against the reeling Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday afternoon as first place in the Western Conference remains in sight.
The Spurs (55-18) are on a seven-game winning streak, with the latest a 123-98 road victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. MVP candidate Victor Wembanyama had 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks in the victory.
San Antonio grabbed control early on against the Grizzlies and built its advantage to as many as 39 points in the fourth quarter while sitting all five starters.
Devin Vassell finished with 19 points and seven rebounds for the Spurs, with Keldon Johnson and Stephon Castle scoring 15 apiece. Julian Champagnie contributed 13 points and Castle added nine assists.
San Antonio outrebounded Memphis 59-33 in a game that was never in question as the Spurs produced their 12th win in 13 games as starting guard De'Aaron Fox sat out with low back tightness.
The Spurs improved to 23-2 since Feb. 1, the best record in the NBA during that stretch, and are two games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top seed in the Western Conference and the best record in the league. San Antonio is 26-11 away from home this season.
"We've had a positive year to this point, but we have not played enough games together to really know what to expect any night," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said, according to NBA.com. "We're putting our energy into some good places, but we have to continue to focus on ourselves. ... There's so much improvement to be had."
Wednesday's victory clinched home-court advantage for the Spurs during the first round of the playoffs.
"I would expect it to be loud with a lot of excitement, enthusiasm," Johnson said while looking forward to the playoffs in front of the home crowd. "But it's still a little bit away, so hopefully we can continue to get better and make some improvements in a lot of areas."
The Bucks (29-43) have all but been eliminated from postseason consideration at 9 1/2 games behind the 10th-place Miami Heat with 10 games remaining. Milwaukee returns home after a 1-3 road trip, losing 130-99 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
All three of the losses during the road trip were by more than 30 points.
Ryan Rollins scored a career-high 36 points and made six 3-pointers on Wednesday for the Bucks, who played without star Giannis Antetokounmpo (left knee) for the fifth straight game. Ousmane Dieng had 16 points, Taurean Prince scored 13 off the bench and Jericho Sims had 12 for Milwaukee, which has won just twice in its past 10 contests.
"Credit to him. He puts in a lot of work," Prince said about Rollins, who has been the team's leading scorer in three of the past four games. "Whether it's a practice day or shootaround, he's always one of the guys working, so not a surprise to me. It's good to see his growth through different coverages and different things that are thrown out. To be able to do that, it's impressive."
Antetokounmpo is not expected to return for Saturday's game, even amid accusations the Bucks are content with losing for better draft position.
"He's not (healthy) -- he's progressing. He's just not healthy," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said about Antetokounmpo. "We're just trying to get Giannis cleared and healthy; that's our only focus. All the other stuff, we stay above."
The Spurs handled the Bucks in the first meeting this season, taking a 119-101 victory Jan. 15 at San Antonio.