Tune-In Tidbits: ESPN Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021

Miami and Milwaukee split their first two meetings of the season – with both wins coming by 20+ points by the home team.

Milwaukee (16-9) at Miami (14-11), 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

• Giannis Antetokounmpo (27.6 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 5.8 apg) and Nikola Jokic – the players that have won the last three league MVP awards – are the only two players in the league averaging at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists this season.

• Khris Middleton (19.9), Jrue Holiday (19.8), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (19.8) average the most shots defended from 25-29 feet from the basket, with Giannis allowing the lowest FG% from that range of the 3-point shot (29.4%). The Bucks allow the most 3-point attempts per game (41.0) but hold teams to the fourth lowest 3-point percentage in the league (32.7%).

• This game features three of the top 10 scorers on catch-and-shoot jumpers so far this season. Milwaukee’s Pat Connaughton ranks second at 7.9 ppg on 64.3 eFG%; Milwaukee’s Grayson Allen ranks fifth at 7.3 ppg on 62.1eFG%; and Miami’s Duncan Robinson ranks 10th at 6.7 ppg on 49.1 eFG%.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo (802) needs three blocks to become Milwaukee’s all-time leader in the category, topping Alton Lister (804). Giannis is averaging 1.7 blocks per game so far this season – the second-highest mark of his career, and the 10th highest in the league – and has five games with three blocks or more this season.

The Heat and Bucks have split their first two games this season – with each win coming in blowout fashion. The Heat opened their season with a 42-point rout of the defending champs with Tyler Herro (27 pts), Jimmy Butler (21 pts) and Bam Adebayo (20 pts, 13 reb) leading the way. It was Milwaukee’s biggest loss since 2014 and Miami’s second-biggest win in franchise history. This past Saturday, the Bucks picked up a 22-point win over the Heat with both teams shorthanded as the Heat were without Butler and Adebayo and the Bucks were without Giannis.

Portland (11-14) at Golden State (20-4), 10:00 p.m. ET, ESPN

• The Blazers will be without their starting back court of Damian Lillard (abdomen) and CJ McCollum (lung) due to injury. This season, Portland’s most-used lineup that includes neither Lillard nor McCollum has played a total of 15 minutes together over three games. That group – Ben McLemore, Cody Zeller, Tony Snell, Larry Nance Jr. and Dennis Smith Jr. is plus-3 points in those 15 minutes.

• The Warriors enter Wednesday’s game with the best defensive efficiency (99.8 points allowed per 100 possessions) in the NBA. The last team to hold its opponents under a point per possession over the course of a season was the 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs (98.2). Golden State’s defense allows 4.3 fewer points per 100 possessions than second-ranked Phoenix (104.1); that is the equivalent of the difference between second-ranked Phoenix and 16th-ranked Denver (108.4).

• Stephen Curry (2,958) enters Wednesday’s game needing 15 3-pointers to tie and 16 3-pointers to break Ray Allen’s all-time record (2,973). No player has ever made 15 3-pointers in a single game, although Curry’s splash brother Klay Thompson came closest with an NBA-record 14 triples against Chicago in 2018. Curry’s career-high is 13, and he is the only player with multiple games of 12 or more 3-pointers made. Can the Chase Center crowd push Curry to the single-game record and the all-time record on the same night before the Warriors head out on a five-game road trip?

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• Portland allows the highest 3-point percentage in the league, with opposing teams shooting 38.6% from beyond the arc. Portland’s opponents average 13.9 3-pointers made per game – the second-highest mark in the league behind OKC.

• This game features the league’s top home team (Golden State at 13-2, 0.867 win percentage at Chase Center) hosting the league’s second-worst road team (Portland at 1-10, 0.090 win percentage) so far this season. The Warriors are a plus-247 over 15 games at home. In 725 minutes played at home this season, the Warriors have led by 16 or more points for more minutes (165) than they have trailed (155).