Let’s go on a road trip with the NBA-best Bucks

Robin Lopez didn’t get enough of Slamson the Lion during pregame, and after the contest they wrestle a second time. (1:05)

The Milwaukee Bucks boarded their private plane to take them to San Antonio sporting a 32-5 record, the best in the NBA this season. Their .865 win percentage had them on pace to win 71 games, putting them on par with the 1996-96 Chicago Bulls (72-10) and the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (73-9). The Bucks’ reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, was already looking like a threat to repeat.

Milwaukee embarked on a four-game trip, matching its longest stint away from home this season. For the first and only time all season, the Bucks were set to play three consecutive games in the Pacific Time Zone.

Buckle up as we take you inside the chronicles of Milwaukee’s Western expedition through Texas, California and Oregon.

All-Star small forward Khris Middleton sat silent, glued to the game on his cell phone, with his legs buried in NormaTec recovery boots. But he perked up when asked about his experience with legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich through Team USA at the FIBA World Cup this summer.

“He helped me tremendously,” Middleton told ESPN, pausing the game prior to tipoff. “He’s one of the best coaches that’s been around the game ever, so a lot of what he had to say was something I wanted to listen to, whether it was to me or somebody else.

“He definitely tried to push me defensively and just wanted me to become a better, more complete player, especially on that side of the ball.”

Unfortunately, that didn’t translate on this night.

Middleton and the Bucks allowed the Spurs to score 126 points en route to a 22-point defeat, their largest regular-season loss in two campaigns. The Spurs, who had lost in Milwaukee two nights earlier, made a season-high 19 3-pointers. The Bucks made multiple runs, but Popovich — the same coach Middleton had grown to respect over the summer — would kill Milwaukee’s momentum with a key timeout each time, irking Antetokounmpo.

“It drives me crazy,” Antetokounmpo said after finishing with a team-high 24 points. “Whenever you try to get the momentum and you knock down a 3, you get a steal, get a dunk or something, he just calls a timeout, and the momentum goes away. But it’s smart. That’s how they do in Europe; that’s what he does, and he definitely helps his team.”
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