The final game of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era in Milwaukee may be upon us as the Bucks host the New Orleans Hornets on the second of a back-to-back. Despite a feeling of doom and gloom lingering, the Bucks managed to snap a five-game losing streak against Chicago as they opened a three-game homestand.<\/p>\n
The Bucks made up some ground on Chicago, which now sits in 10th in the East and looks to be blowing up its core prior to the trade deadline. The Bulls are 3.5 up on the Bucks and just one ahead of the surging Hornets.<\/p>\n
All that spells out why Antetokounmpo is done with Milwaukee since he\u2019s stated he would love to stay put in order to win but not to fight just to make the playoffs. That would be the best case scenario of what the Bucks would be doing if he\u2019s on the roster following Thursday\u2019s trade deadline.<\/p>\n
Milwaukee has dropped seven of nine, during which Antetokounmpo suffered an aggravation of a soleus strain late in a Jan. 23\u00a0 loss to the Nuggets. That final minute he played is likely to be his last in a Bucks uniform unless there\u2019s a return prior to hs career ending.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Bucks are 10-12 at home, while the Pels\u2019 5-20 road mark is the NBA\u2019s fourth-worst. New Orleans is 6-13 against Eastern Conference competition, while the Bucks are 4-12 against the West.<\/p>\n
Vitals – How to Watch Pelicans at Bucks<\/p>\n
Game date, time and location: Wednesday, Feb. 4, 8:10 p.m. EST, Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin<\/p>\n
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin (Bucks), Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network (Pelicans)<\/p>\n
Radio: \u00a0WTMJ (Bucks), WWL (Pelicans)<\/p>\n
Bucks seek first wins of ’25-26 in both ends of back-to-back<\/p>\n
The Milwaukee Bucks (19-29) host the New Orleans Pelicans (13-39) and look to win consecutive games for the first time since opening 2026 with back-to-back victories.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To do so, they\u2019ll have to win on consecutive nights, which hasn\u2019t occurred once all season. The Bucks do have a 3-3 mark on the second night of a back-to-back, but haven\u2019t played in one in \u201826. They won on Dec. 27 in Chicago after losing the previous night in Memphis, so this would be a step in the right direction on the court prior to whatever happens off it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New Orleans has dropped two straight but is actually 3-3 over the past six games as it continues a four-game road swing. The Pels fell on Monday afternoon despite leading surging Charlotte at the break.<\/p>\n
This will be the first matchup of the season between these teams. The Bucks will open action after the All-Star break in New Orleans. They\u2019ve swept the season series in two of the past three years and are 6-1 over the past seven encounters. The Pelicans last win in Milwaukee came in overtime on Feb. 25, 2018. They\u2019ve lost their last seven visits to Fiserv Forum.<\/p>\n