Tune-In Tidbits: ESPN Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Giannis Antetokounmpo has tallied a triple-double in three straight games.

Bucks (25-14) at Sixers (28-12)
7 p.m. ET, ESPN

• This is a matchup of the second-ranked offense in the league (Milwaukee, 117.3 offensive rating) against the second-ranked defense in the league (Philadelphia, 107.8 defensive rating).

• The Sixers enter Wednesday riding a six-game win streak. During the streak, Tobias Harris has averaged 22.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists, while shooting 54.2% from the field, 42.9% on 3-pointers and 89.5% on free throws while playing in five of the six games.

• The Bucks are on a win streak of their own as they have won four straight games entering Wednesday. Giannis Antetokounmpo has tallied a triple-double in each of the past three games – the longest such streak in Bucks history. In those three games, Giannis is averaging 29.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 10.3 assists in 33.8 minutes per game.

• The Sixers (16.4 ppg) and Bucks (15.7 ppg) rank first and third, respectively, in fast break points this season. The Bucks are led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who averages a league-high 5.2 fast break points per game. The Sixers are led by Ben Simmons at 4.0 fast break points per game, which ranks fifth in the league.

• The Sixers are 18-3 at home this season, the second-best home record in the league behind Utah’s 16-2. Philadelphia is better on both sides of the ball at home as their offensive rating is 2.6 points higher and their defensive rating is 2.0 points lower at home compared to the road. The Sixers’ assist percentage is nearly seven points higher at home (59.3%) than the road (52.8%) and their effective field goal percentage is nearly four points higher at home (56.1%) than on the road (52.3%).

On Monday, Kawhi Leonard held Luka Doncic to two points on 0-3 shooting from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line.

Clippers (26-15) at Mavericks (20-18)
9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

• The Clippers defeated the Mavericks 109-99 on Monday to even the season series at 1-1. Kawhi Leonard led seven Clippers in double figures with 22 points in the win, while Luka Doncic recorded his ninth triple-double (25 pts, 16 ast, 10 reb) of the season in the loss.

• The Clippers forced Luka Doncic to take 23 shots to get his 25 points on Monday. Paul George (2:32) and Kawhi Leonard (2:22) split the task as being the primary defender on Doncic, with Kawhi holding Luka to two points on 0-3 shooting from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line and George allowing four points on 2-3 shooting.

• Luka Doncic ranks seventh in the league in scoring at 28.1 points per game; he scores over half of his points from 2-point range (50.8%), including 41.7% of his total points coming in the paint. 88.4% of his 2-point field goals are unassisted, which is the third-highest percentage in the league among players who have played at least 30 games this season.

• The Clippers continue to dominate the perimeter both offensively and defensively. They’re hitting 41.8% of their shots from beyond the arc (1st in the NBA), making 14.5 3-pointers per game (6th in the league). The Clippers also hold teams to 36.2% shooting from 3-point range on 32.5 attempts per game, placing them 9th and 7th in the league, respectively, for fewest allowed.

• This game features three of the top 15 scorers on catch-and-shoots: Dallas’ Kristaps Porzingis (8th, 7.7 ppg, 53.3 eFG%) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (12th, 6.9 ppg, 60.5 eFG%) and LA’s Marcus Morris Sr. (15th, 6.4 ppg, 70.4 eFG%). Morris’ 70.4 effective field goal percentage ranks seventh among the 121 players that have attempted at least 100 catch-and-shoots this season.