Bucks aim to get streak going in back-to-back games vs. Hornets

The Milwaukee Bucks are in a good place coming off Tuesday’s emotional win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

At practice on Thursday, players balanced putting in work while smiling and laughing along the way during the portion open to the media.

It’s easy to be in good spirits following a win over one of the top teams in the NBA, especially considering it snapped a three-game losing skid. But it’s also important to turn the page, which the Bucks need to do ahead of back-to-back games against the Charlotte Hornets, with the first coming at 7 p.m. Friday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center before a rematch at 6 p.m. Saturday in Charlotte.

“It’s a big win. I think the biggest win of the season so far, but it’s just a win,” Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said of beating Cleveland. “Just got to stay focused for the next one.”

The Bucks have had home-and-home and back-to-back games like this in the past, but their successive games this weekend against the Hornets mark the first such series this season.

It’s a setup that carries the inherent challenges, including short rest and limited time to prepare, while also adding the element of facing the same team twice in a span of 24 hours.

“It’s tough to beat a team two times in a row whether it’s back-to-back like it is this week or within a couple weeks or a month,” Bucks wing Khris Middleton said.

The Bucks and Hornets have already split a pair of games this season, each winning on their home court. These teams are plenty familiar with each other, though each will bring an added wrinkle to the upcoming games.

Charlotte will have wing Nicolas Batum against Milwaukee for the first time this season. He missed the first 12 games of the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow.

The Bucks, on the other hand, will be able to inject Eric Bledsoe into the matchup for the first time. A speedy, hardworking point guard, Bledsoe will draw the challenge of corralling Hornets guard Kemba Walker, who cooked the Bucks in the second game between the two teams with 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting.

“Kemba puts a lot of pressure on your defense with his speed and his ability to get to the basket and also shooting the ball at a high rate,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “Hopefully Bled can slow him down a little bit, you have speed on speed.”

The upcoming games against the Hornets present the Bucks with the opportunity to push their record as high as five games over .500 at Christmas, something that hasn’t happened since 2005 when the team went into the holiday with a 15-9 record.

Entering Thursday, the Bucks were a half-game out of fourth place in the Eastern Conference and one game ahead of ninth.

“Right now it’s like musical chairs with that bottom four, so we’ve got to do a great job of winning games we need to win,” Middleton said. “We had a big win at home against Cleveland so we have to back it up against a team like this on Friday. It’s a must-need win for us trying to get playoff position and trying to separate ourselves from the rest of the East. We need to win these two games.”

Ballot box open: Voting for the 2018 All-Star Game in Los Angeles opened on Thursday, with votes being accepted exclusively on NBA.com and the NBA app.

Last season, Antetokounmpo became the Bucks’ first all-star since Michael Redd in 2004 and the franchise’s first all-star starter since Sidney Moncrief in 1986. He expected to be a mortal lock for a starting spot yet again considering his fantastic start to the season.

Middleton is making a case to take the trip to L.A. along with Antetokounmpo. His per-game averages in points (20.2 per game), assists (4.7) and rebounds (5.2) are all career highs for a season. Standardized to per-36 minutes stats, Middleton’s still at a career-best pace for both points and assists.

“Khris isn’t one that’s flashy, he just does his job,” Kidd said. “We’ve always talked about him being the security blanket for this team, you can always count on him.”

Is the All-Star Game something that’s on Middleton’s radar?

“Definitely, who would say no an all-star appearance?” he said. “I’m not playing for that right now. Right now I’m just trying to play for my team, play for the win. If that happens along the way I’m going to truly be happy for it."

Voting across other platforms will begin Dec. 25.

Hall call: The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the eligible candidates for its 2018 class on Wednesday. The first-time additions to the list included Kidd as well as former Bucks guard Ray Allen.

Kidd played 19 NBA seasons, averaging 12.6 points, 8.7 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. He was a 10-time all-star, a nine-time all-defensive team member and a five-time first team all-NBA selection. He's also ranked second all-time in assists and steals and won a pair of Olympic gold medals with Team USA.

Allen, who started his 18-year career with seven seasons in Milwaukee, is the NBA's all-time leader in three-pointers made in both the regular season and postseason. He was a career 40% shooter from long range, averaging 18.9 points per game during a career spent with four teams and included 10 all-star selections. He won an Olympic gold medal along with Kidd in 2000.

Former Bucks Marques Johnson, Sidney Moncrief and Jack Sikma are also among the nominees.

Bucks special consultant Rod Thorn is a first-time nominee as a contributor. Assistant Tim Grgurich and former Bucks coach Del Harris remain on the ballot among the contributors.

Rookie watch: Over the past few games, rookie guard Sterling Brown has gotten more opportunities on the court. With that added playing time, though, have come challenges.

Against Houston and Cleveland, Brown was almost immediately isolated on defense by some of the best players in the league as James Harden, Chris Paul and LeBron James went at him.

He hasn’t always gotten the best of those matchups, but he’s enjoyed the test.

“It’s great,” Brown said. “It’s a challenge I’ve got to step up to and handle my business."

Fellow rookie D.J. Wilson hasn’t had the same chances, logging less than five minutes over the Bucks’ eight games in December, including sitting for the entirety of six of them. On Wednesday, he was assigned to the Wisconsin Herd and had 12 points, five rebounds and two assists in the Herd’s 111-104 loss before being recalled Thursday.

“We’re playing with it, whoever can play,” Kidd said of utilizing the G League. “I think looking at not just D.J., Sterling, guys that have the opportunity to play to go down there and get some run. D.J. was the guy that we could send down there to get some run and I thought he did good.”