Bucks, Clippers still hoping to make playoff runs
The Los Angeles Clippers will welcome an old friend back into town Monday when former head coach Doc Rivers and his current team, the Milwaukee Bucks, make a visit to Inglewood, Calif.
As the Clippers try to nail down a favorable spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament, the Bucks are making a last-gasp effort to become play-in eligible with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
Los Angeles (35-36) is heading home after ending a four-game losing streak with a 138-131 overtime victory on the road against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. Darius Garland stepped up in his best game for the Clippers, scoring 41 points with 11 assists.
Garland, who has played in nine games for Los Angeles, including seven starts, is averaging 21.4 points with 7.0 assists for his new team after arriving in a trade-deadline deal from the Cleveland Cavaliers. James Harden was traded to Cleveland in the transaction.
Even with his production, Garland was just as pleased to see teammate Kawhi Leonard deliver 34 points on 12-of-22 shooting, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range.
"Yeah, it was pretty cool to see him go to work," Garland said of Leonard, who scored 13 points in the third quarter when the Clippers outscored the Mavericks 37-27 as they rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit. "I just wanted him to get some catch-and-shoot opportunities, and he got a couple to get us going. Overall, it was a good team win."
Los Angeles shot 56.7% from the floor and went 21 of 42 from 3-point range, including 9 of 19 in the second half and 4 of 6 in the decisive overtime period. Leonard scored seven points in OT.
The Bucks (29-41) lost six of seven games before pulling off a 108-105 road victory over the postseason-eligible Phoenix Suns on Saturday. Ryan Rollins scored 26 points with 10 rebounds, including four points in the final 23.8 seconds to seal the victory.
The Bucks, who are 7 1/2 games out of the final play-in spot, not only were playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) for the third consecutive game, they also lost Kyle Kuzma in the third quarter because of right Achilles tendon tightness. Kuzma finished with 20 points before departing.
Kuzma scored 17 points in the first half as Milwaukee scored 42 points in the second quarter as a team and rallied from a 13-point deficit to take a 57-52 lead at halftime.
"I just thought it was a team win; everybody pitched in," Rivers said. "Kuzma had a fantastic first half and I thought (Rollins) was consistent. It was funny, Ryan started out in the beginning of the game struggling a little bit. We took him out, brought him back in and I thought he played terrifically."
Rollins is scoring a career-best 16.9 points per game, while also reaching career highs in games played (68) and starts (61).
Monday's game will be the first between the teams this season. They will also meet March 29 at Milwaukee.
The Bucks have won five of the last six games over the Clippers during the past three seasons, with the only loss coming in their first game at Los Angeles' new arena last season.