Durant poised to return as Warriors host Bucks (Mar 28, 2018)
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors expect half of their fearsome foursome to be back in action Thursday night when they seek to snap a two-game losing streak against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr announced after Tuesday's 92-81 home loss to Utah that Kevin Durant, who suffered fractured rib cartilage on March 14, and Draymond Green, who has missed the last two games with an illness, are likely to return against the Bucks.
Golden State has struggled to score without Durant, Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, getting held to 91 points in a 19-point home loss to Utah before reaching just 81, its second-lowest total of the season, against the Indiana Pacers.
That should be less of a problem provided Durant and Green, who combine to average 37.9 points, face the Bucks, who will be playing the second of four games on a Western swing.
"We are just trying to mix and match and find some combinations," noted Kerr, who used a 24th different starting lineup in the Indiana game. "I like the way we are fighting and competing, but we obviously need a scoring punch."
Durant had 26 points and Green 21 when the Warriors won 108-94 at Milwaukee in January.
Golden State also got a surprising nine points and eight rebounds from Kevon Looney, a UCLA product who was enjoying a rare homecoming in his native Milwaukee.
Looney had arguably his best game of the season Tuesday against the Pacers, contributing eight points, 11 rebounds and two blocks to the short-handed attack.
While the Warriors (54-20) already have clinched a playoff spot in the West, the Bucks (39-35) are no sure thing in the East despite currently residing in the eighth position with just eight games remaining.
Milwaukee will take the court Thursday with a five-game lead over Detroit (34-40), but with three games remaining on its trip and a meeting with Boston in the first game after returning home.
The Bucks had a chance to give themselves even more of a cushion, but squandered a fourth-quarter lead and lost 105-98 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
"We're not in the playoffs," said an angry Milwaukee coach Joe Prunty. "We have to play better and we have to win games and then we'll get into the playoffs. I looked at the standings a day or two ago -- we weren't in. We're not in right now, right? So, we're not in.
"I'm worried about how we're playing."
The Bucks hurt themselves with 17 turnovers against the Clippers. The usually reliable Eric Bledsoe (six) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (four) had 10 of them.
Antetokounmpo has never been at his best at Golden State in four career visits. He's averaged just 14.0 points in those games, all losses, and missed all four of his 3-point attempts.
The two-time All-Star had 26 points Tuesday against the Clippers, and has totaled 25 or more in five of his last six games, averaging 28.5 points over that stretch.
