Clippers beat short-handed Bucks 127-113

The Milwaukee Bucks lost their fourth in a row and for the 14 ^th time in 17 games with a 127-113 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on March 29 at Fiserv Forum.

The Bucks (29-45) suited up just eight players but finished with six, as AJ Green and Ousmane Dieng fouled out in the fourth quarter. Despite the foul issues, Jericho Sims did not play the final 16 minutes of the game for the Bucks, effectively limiting them to five players for the final seven minutes.

“It was fun, honestly, just to compete,” Bucks forward Taurean Prince said. “That’s really what we hung our hat on today, just going out there with who we had and just playing our ass off.”

Milwaukee was paced by Gary Trent Jr. , who scored a season high 36 points on 12-of-21 shooting, including 9 for 15 from behind the 3-point line in 37 minutes.

“Going into the eighth year of my NBA career I’ve started in games, I’ve been benched, I’ve been behind the bench in a suit, I’ve started and scored 40 before, so again I’ve touched almost every aspect that you can almost be a part of good and bad,” Trent said. “So, really just over those years throughout the course of my career helped me how to deal with things, how to stay sane, how to continue to keep working, things like that.”

The single game record for made 3-pointers is 10, shared by Damian Lillard (2024) and Ray Allen (2002). Michael Redd also made nine 3-pointers in a game in 2002.

BOX SCORE: Clippers 127, Bucks 113

Andre Jackson Jr. started his first game since Feb. 12, 2025 for the Bucks, and he scored 13 points and had six rebounds in 33 minutes. He also finished with five fouls. Taurean Prince had 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds off the bench for Milwaukee.

Two-way player Cormac Ryan scored a career-high 13 points off the bench for Milwaukee.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 20 points in 23 minutes while Darius Garland added 15 points and 11 assists in 27 minutes. Neither played deep into the second half.

Milwaukee kept the game close in the first quarter and trailed 29-25, largely due to six turnovers that led to nine Clippers points. But, the visitors gradually wore the undermanned Bucks down and led by as many as 16 in the first half before stretching it past 20 in the third quarter.

The Clippers led by as many as 24 early in the fourth quarter but decided to get aggressive defensively and put the Bucks in the bonus with over seven minutes to go in the game. So, the free throws, slower place and Trent’s hot shooting got Milwaukee to cut the deficit to 11 late in the fourth quarter, but they could not get closer than that.

Los Angeles (39-36) were able to convert 22 Milwaukee turnovers into 33 points.

“I thought we moved the ball, we hung in there,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “In the first half, it was funny one of our guys said man we’re generating a ton of threes, we’re just not making any of ‘em. If we can start making ‘em we can get back in the game and we made ‘em in the second half. Defensively I wish we were better. Wish we didn’t turn the ball over. That was probably was the biggest difference as well.”

Brook Lopez makes Milwaukee return

The game marked the first time Brook Lopez played at Fiserv Forum as a visiting player, as he signed with the Bucks during the arena’s inaugural 2018-19 season. Lopez, who signed with Los Angeles over the summer, spent seven seasons with the Bucks and was an anchor for the club as it became one of the best in the NBA.

Lopez helped the team win the 2021 championship, earned two all-defensive team nods, was the 2023 defensive player of the year runner-up. He concluded his Bucks career No. 2 all-time in blocks behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and No. 4 all-time in 3-pointers made and attempted.

“It was a long time (here), there are a ton of great people I spent time here with every single day and a lot of great things happened,” he said.

He was recognized with a tribute video during the first timeout of the game, and he took a moment to acknowledge a standing ovation while at the scorer’s table.

“I mean, I pointed to the crew but obviously the banner, too," Lopez said. "A lot of good memories here. I appreciate the love and support. I think we had fun tonight.”

Lopez didn’t attempt a shot in the first half, but he did earn a technical foul. He finished the game with eight points on 2 of 3 shooting, including a 4-for-5 mark from the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds

After the game, Lopez visited with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis Jr. and left with a stack of "Greek Freak" shoes and a thick pile of signed jerseys from former teammates.

“Created a lot of great relationships here," Lopez said. "And those last forever.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo not medically cleared to play

The Clippers game marks two weeks since Antetokounmpo suffered a hyperextension and bone bruise in his left knee after landing awkwardly following a dunk on March 15 vs. Indiana . Antetokounmpo wanted to get back into that game but relayed afterward that the message from the training staff was it was “not worth it.”

He has not been seen since, as he has struggled with being forced to sit while he believes he is healthy enough to play . On March 24, the players association issued a statement on his behalf decrying the Bucks tanking and the league not enforcing its own rules for player participation, and on March 25 NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league would look into the situation.

Before the game against the Clippers, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers maintained that Antetokounmpo has not been medically cleared to return to play, despite looking fluid in many pregame warmups.

Rivers said there has been a re-evaluation of Antetokounmpo.

Regarding another conversation with the star about formally ending his season, Rivers said, "No. I mean, he's not healthy yet. So we gotta get to the point where he's cleared before we even have any conversation."

When asked if there is a chance then that Antetokounmpo may yet play this season, Rivers added, "Yeah, but he has to clear all the things. To me, there's no discussion about it until he clears everything."

Antetokounmpo has now missed seven games due to the knee issue.

More: What does Giannis Antetokounmpo want? He wants to retire with the Milwaukee Bucks

Bucks tank update

Chicago lost to Memphis on March 28, after the Bucks lost to the Spurs. That dropped the Bulls to 29-45 and they held onto the ninth-worst record in the NBA with a .392 winning percentage.

The Bucks did their job on March 29, however, as the loss to the Clippers dropped the Bucks to 29-45 as well.

Per the lottery-tracking web site www.tankathon.com, losing more than the Bulls would give the Bucks a mathematical chance at winning the No. 9 pick in the draft lottery on May 10. It’ll be a real race, too, as the Bucks have two games left with tanking Brooklyn and one with tanking Memphis, while the Bulls have two games left with tanking Washington and one with tanking Indianapolis.

Of course, should Milwaukee win a lower position in the draft than New Orleans , the Bucks won’t make the pick to begin with due to a swap owed as part of the 2020 trade for Jrue Holiday . The Pelicans began game play on March 29 at 25-50 overall and are tying to win, as they traded their rights to that swap to Atlanta .

The Bucks have remained in 11 ^th place in the Eastern Conference, a spot in the standings they’ve occupied for the better part of three months.

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 .

48.9:Winning percentage as Bucks coach for Doc Rivers, the lowest of his Hall of Fame coaching career and worst for the franchise since Jason Kidd won at a 47.8% clip from 2015-18.

2/12/26:The last time Ryan Rollins missed a game. The young guard has been an iron man for the Bucks in his breakout season, having played 71 of a possible 73 games heading into the game with the Clippers.

Is Giannis playing?

No.

Milwaukee Bucks injury report

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, out (left knee hyperextension and bone bruise)

• Gary Harris , out (personal reasons)

• Kevin Porter Jr. , out (right knee synovitis)

• Bobby Portis Jr., out (left wrist sprain0

• Thanasis Antetokounmpo , out (left calf soreness)

• Kyle Kuzma , out (right Achilles tendinopathy)

• Ryan Rollins, out (left hip flexor soreness)

• Myles Turner , out (right patella tendinopathy)

Bucks starting lineup

• Guards: Andre Jackson Jr., Gary Trent Jr.

• Forwards: Pete Nance , Ousmane Dieng

• Center: Jericho Sims

What time is the Bucks game?

The game is set to begin at 2:30 p.m.

What time is the Brewers game?

First pitch down the road at American Family Insurance Field is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.

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.

Bucks vs. Clippers odds

Los Angeles is a 13.5-point favorite over Milwaukee with the over/under set at 222.5 points, per BetMGM.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Clippers beat short-handed Bucks 127-113