On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks (58-22) secured the NBA’s best record and the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed following their 105-92 victory over the Chicago Bulls (38-42).
Milwaukee’s win came without superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was listed as probable, but sat out due to a right knee injury.
“A great advantage and something to be proud of for the regular season,” said center Brook Lopez, who finished with 26 points. “We were very resilient each and every night. Whatever lineup we had out there showed up to play. Again, it’s going to be a big advantage because there’s a lot of great teams in the postseason, there’s going to be a lot of great series. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
However, it wasn’t all positive for the Bucks; star forward Khris Middleton left the game in the second quarter with right knee soreness and did not return.
“Just a right knee soreness, a re-aggravation of something that we’ve been working with him on all year,” said Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer. “That’s what I got.”
Middleton is unlikely to play in Milwaukee’s final two regular season games.
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Bucks as odds-on favorites to capture the 2022-23 NBA Championship at +240.
