Brook Lopez speaks on his return to Milwaukee
Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez speaks on his return to Milwaukee on March 29, 2026. Lopez played seven seasons with the Bucks.
It had been a while since the Milwaukee Bucks enjoyed a nice, easy victory.
They got that on March 31 with a 123-99 rout over the Dallas Mavericks at Fiserv Forum. In the process, they got to beat a beloved former teammate, and the large margin of victory allowed a Bucks player to make a notable debut.
The Bucks (30-45) snapped a four-game losing streak. Milwaukee hadn’t won by double-digits since a 113-99 victory over the Utah Jazz on March 7.
It helped that head coach Doc Rivers had many regular rotation players available, which hasn’t been the case in recent games as the team tumbled out of contention for the playoffs.
“It was great to have them,” Rivers said. “Don’t know if we’ll have them tomorrow (on the second night of a back-to-back at Houston), but it was great to have them tonight.
“Home games, things like that, try to take care of the home crowd.”
Ryan Rollins flirted with a triple-double for the Bucks with 24 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. He is finishing his breakout season strong.
“Honestly, it’s a blessing in disguise for him and his career right now,” Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma said about Rollins. “Just with the overall situation, he’s taking advantage of it and learning how to just be an all-around combo guard.”
The Bucks were hot from the start, shooting 63.6% in the first quarter while taking a 38-31 lead. Their biggest advantage came at 115-84 in the fourth quarter.
BOX SCORE: Bucks 123, Mavericks 99
Kuzma was back in the Bucks’ lineup after sitting out four games with right Achilles tendonopathy.
Kuzma got right in the groove, scoring nine points on 4-for-6 shooting in the first quarter. He finished with 20 points and six rebounds.
“It’s a little sore,” Kuzma said of his Achilles. “It’s ongoing. I’ve had it probably over three weeks now.
“Just been dealing with it. We’re managing it well. So credit to the staff for helping me.”
Mavericks superstar rookie Cooper Flagg shot 6 for 19 and finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Alex Antetokounmpo makes NBA debut with Bucks
Former Dominican High School star Alex Antetokounmpo has been called up to the Bucks for the first time this season. Signed to the first two-way contract of his career, Antetokounmpo spent the entire season with the G League’s Wisconsin Herd to date. The Herd finished in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 10-26 record and did not make the playoffs, so Antetokounmpo has been brought to Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo appeared in 47 games for the Herd (tip-off tournament and regular season) and played 18.9 minutes per game. He averaged 4.9 points on 38.8% shooting overall, including a 29.5% mark from behind the 3-point line. He also averaged 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in those games.
Antetokounmpo, 24, made his NBA debut when he checked in the for final 2 minutes 48 seconds.. His older brothers Thanasis, Giannis and Kostas all have played in the NBA.
“Dream come true,” Alex Antetokounmpo said. “Honestly, just subbing in, I was kind of looking around. Being a kid that grew up in Milwaukee, I’ve been to more Bucks games than I could ever count.
“So to put on that jersey was amazing.”
His older brothers Giannis and Thanasis were both on the Bucks’ bench in street clothes to witness the moment.
“It’s amazing,” Alex said. “Just seeing them on the sideline and just them kind of like directing me on what to do.
“I’ve dreamed of moments like this. Just to actually live it, I think it’s amazing.”
Antetokounmpo hit three free throws in the final two minutes for his first points. Giannis made sure to grab the game ball from the Mavericks’ Ryan Nembhard after the buzzer to give it to Alex.
“Shout out to my brother obviously,” Alex said. “He made it his mission to get that ball for me.”
Bucks get another win over Khris Middleton
The Bucks beat Khris Middleton in two different uniforms this season, but the former Bucks star ended the year with a 3-2 record against his former team. In his four previous games vs. the Bucks this season while with Washington, Middleton scored 23 (Oct. 22), 15 (Dec. 1) and 13 points (Jan. 29) and was held scoreless (Dec. 31) as the Wizards went 3-1 against the Bucks.
Rivers once again acknowledged that the player going against his former team, regardless of warm memories or not, always has an advantage because the desire to “get back” just can’t be matched.
But the situation on March 31 was a bit different for Middleton than, say, the season opener in his first game back in Milwaukee as a visiting player. And, the 34-year-old former all-star played 22 minutes on March 30 in Minnesota for the Mavericks. So while Middleton started against his former team, he logged 22 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back and scored eight points on 3 of 11 shooting.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd coached Middleton [and Giannis Antetokounmpo] from 2014-18 while in Milwaukee and spoke before the game about the process of coaching young players and teaching them how to win. Kidd was then asked what it has been like to coach Middleton now, as an NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist.
“A lot easier,” Kidd quipped with a smile. “No, it’s great. You talk about this version of Khris, we joked about the shoe’s on the other foot. I talked to him about Zaza (Pachulia) and O.J. (Mayo) and that group that were the vets who were trying to help the younger players and he had a great response. He goes, you know younger players don’t want to listen to the coach or the vets, they know it all. I said well, you’re the vet now. He goes, exactly, the young players aren’t going to listen to me.
“But Khris, being part of his journey early, incredible talent. At this point in his career, still has a lot to give. Not just the physical, but mentally, being able to share his wisdom of his journey. And because of his skill set, I think he can really help Coop[er Flagg] with the middy game and the post-up game.”
Bucks tank update
Beating Dallas on March 31 hurt Milwaukee’s draft chances in a couple of ways.
The Bucks improved to 30-45, giving them some separation from Chicago (29-46) with the 10th worst record in the league. The loss dropped Dallas to 24-52, keeping New Orleans (25-51) as the seventh-worst team in the league.
The Pelicans maintain the right to swap their first round pick with the Bucks should the Bucks win a lower draft position, but at this point the 10 worst teams in the league will take any slight increase in their odds at winning a lower draft pick in the May 10 draft lottery.
5 numbers
3: Percent chance the Bucks could win the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft heading into the game, per the lottery-tracking website www.tankathon.com.
0: Percent chance the Bucks could actually pick No. 1, due to a swap with New Orleans from the 2020 trade for Jrue Holiday. The best draft choice the Bucks could possibly get is No. 2 overall. The last time the Bucks drafted at that position was 2014, when they drafted Jabari Parker.
65.9: Percent chance the Bucks win the No. 10 pick in the draft heading into the game, per www.tankathon.com. The last time the Bucks picked that low in the draft was 2016, when they selected Thon Maker.
33: Different starting lineups the Bucks have used this season after opening with Kyle Kuzma, Jericho Sims, Myles Turner, Gary Trent Jr. and Ryan Rollins. Twenty of the team’s previous 32 starting lineups only began one game together.
12: Times the Bucks used the starting lineup of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Myles Turner, AJ Gren, Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins, the most of any combination. The team was 7-5 in those games.
Is Giannis playing?
No.
The Bucks superstar is into his third week of missed games after hyperextending his left knee and suffering a bone bruise on March 15. Prior to the Bucks game on March 29, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo has not been cleared to return to play but also had yet to re-evaluated in order to be cleared to play.
What time is the Bucks game?
The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT.
What time is the Brewers game?
First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. CT at American Family Field.
What channel is the Bucks game on?
The game will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, out (left knee hyperextension and bone bruise)
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo, out (left calf strain)
- Kevin Porter Jr., out (right knee synovitis)
- Bobby Portis Jr., out (left wrist sprain)
- Gary Harris, out (personal reasons)
- Kyle Kuzma, available (right Achilles tendonopathy)
- Ryan Rollins, available (left hip flexor soreness)
Bucks starting lineup
- Guards: Ryan Rollins, Gary Trent Jr.
- Forwards: Jericho Sims, Kyle Kuzma
- Center: Myles Turner
Bucks vs. Mavericks odds
Dallas is a 2.5-point favorite over Milwaukee, with the over/under set at 229.5 points per BetMGM.
