The Milwaukee Bucks look to open a four-game Western swing with a victory when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
The excursion will continue with two games in Los Angeles against the Clippers and Lakers before it finishes against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. The meeting against the Suns will be the first since Milwaukee defeated Phoenix in six games in last season’s NBA Finals.
While the anticipation builds over the showdown with the NBA-best Suns, Milwaukee first will look to take care of business against three teams that are .500 or worse. That begins with Portland, which has lost four straight games and six of its past seven.
The Bucks have won five of their past seven games, but one of the setbacks was a 136-100 trouncing by the visiting Denver Nuggets on Sunday. The 36-point margin of defeat was the team’s second worst of the season behind a 42-point loss (137-95) to the host Miami Heat on Oct. 21.
Milwaukee bounced back with a 112-98 home win over the…