(Washington, DC) — The Bucks put seven players in double figures while whipping the Washington Wizards in the season opener 133-120 Wednesday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo told reporters earlier this week he and his teammates were “dangerous” and experts were wrong to dismiss them. Antetokounmpo posted a double-double with 37 points and 14 rebounds. Milwaukee came out of the gate on fire and controlled the whole game. The Bucks play at Toronto Friday.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. will undergo an MRI after spraining his left ankle late in the first quarter of a season-opening 133-120 victory over the Washington Wizards. Bucks coach Doc Rivers said the injury “didn’t look good, I’ll just say that.” Rivers called it “a pretty bad sprain.” Porter will have the MRI on Thursday. He was heading backward as Washington’s Cam Whitmore was driving. Porter appeared to trip over the foot of teammate Bobby Portis, and he laid on the floor in pain before heading to the locker room.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Khris Middleton considers a standing ovation from an opposing team’s crowd one of the ultimate signs of respect. Middleton received a few of them Wednesday as he played at Milwaukee for the first time since the Bucks sent the three-time All-Star to the Washington Wizards at last season’s trade deadline. Middleton scored 23 points in the Wizards’ 133-120 loss to the Bucks and said afterward the reception he got from Milwaukee fans exceeded even his most optimistic expectations.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Anthony Edwards had 41 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied in the fourth quarter for a 118-114 season-opening win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Edwards, who set a career high last season with an average of 27.6 points, was questionable for the game because of back spasms, but started. Edwards hit a step-back jumper to pull Minnesota within 107-105, then made a 3-pointer to make it 108-107 with 3:36 left. Another Edwards 3 gave Minnesota a 114-112 lead and Rudy Gobert’s dunk with 32.1 seconds to go sealed it. Jerami Grant led the Blazers with 29 points.
The Minnesota Vikings will visit the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night, pitting defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ unit against QB Justin Herbert. The Vikings struggled to contain the passing attack of the Philadelphia Eagles in a 28-22 loss on Sunday, allowing 316 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Herbert threw for a career-high 420 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in a 38-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Pregame at 6pm. Kickoff at 7:15pm on 99.1FM.
(Green Bay, WI) — The Packers are three-and-a-half-point favorites to beat former teammate Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Monday Night Football. FanDuel sportsbook expects a low-scoring game. His three-sack game against the Arizona Cardinals has resulted in Micah Parsons being named the NFC defensive player of the week. Parsons is the first Green Bay player to win one of the league’s weekly awards since Edgerrin Cooper last year in Week 15.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay wide receiver Christian Watson expects to play Sunday night at Pittsburgh. It would be his first game action since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the Packers’ 2024 regular-season finale. Watson believes his surgically repaired knee is ready. Watson says he believes he could have even played last weekend in the Packers’ 27-23 victory at Arizona. He was listed as a limited participant in practice on Wednesday.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers wants to beat the Green Bay Packers because it’s his job, not for revenge. Rodgers will face his former team for the first time in his 21-year career when Pittsburgh hosts the Packers. Rodgers won four MVPs and a Super Bowl during his 18-year stay in Green Bay before being traded to the New York Jets in 2023. Rodgers says he holds no animosity about his departure and that he has nothing but “love and appreciation” for the Packers and their fans.
(Madison, WI) — The Wisconsin men’s basketball team will take on the Oklahoma Sooners Friday at the Fiserv Forum. It will be the first time for the Badgers to meet another Division One team in an exhibition contest since 2017. UW beat Oklahoma seven years ago when the two met during the Battle 4 Atlantis. Coach Greg Gard’s team wraps up the exhibition schedule next Wednesday at home against UW-Platteville.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nico Daws made 29 saves, Paul Cotter, Brenden Dillon and rookie Arseny Gritsyuk scored and the New Jersey Devils beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight victory. New Jersey began the streak after an opening loss at Carolina, winning three each at home and on the road. The winning streak is the Devils’ longest since a 13-game run early in the 2022-23 season. Jesper Bratt had an empty-net goal. The 24-year-old Gritsyuk — a fifth-round pick in 2019 — scored his first NHL goal on the power play at 4:53 of the third. Matt Boldy scored for Minnesota.
(Madison, WI) — The Wisconsin women’s hockey team resumes one of the most-lopsided series in Division One sports when it takes on Minnesota State-Mankato this weekend. The Badgers have won 111 of 117 meetings with three ties. They’re 32-and-1 against the Mavericks in games played inside LaBahn Arena. The last time Minnesota State prevailed was nearly six years ago. The games are played this Saturday and Sunday.