Khris Middleton said he was "definitely concerned" and stand-in head coach Darvin Ham bemoaned another defeat as the Milwaukee Bucks tripped up once more against the Charlotte Hornets.
The Bucks have followed a run of six consecutive wins with four defeats in five games, the latest being a 103-99 setback to the Hornets at Spectrum Center.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points with 13 rebounds and eight assists, while Middleton had 27 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists, yet the Bucks delivered an incomplete performance.
The Hornets improved to 22-19, while the sliding Bucks are now 26-17 for the season, following up their championship campaign in 2021 with something not quite so persuasive.
It was a second loss to the Hornets in three days for the Bucks, who, like so many other teams, are feeling the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
Jrue Holiday has joined the ranks of Bucks stars sidelined and isolating due to the NBA's health and safety protocols, and inevitably his absence was felt. Holiday averages 18.4 per game this season and leads the team for assists (6.7)
Acting head coach Darvin Ham, leading the Bucks with Mike Budenholzer in health and safety protocols, could not coax out of the team a match-winning display, as James Borrego's Hornets extending their winning streak to three.
"My hat's off to Charlotte," Ham said. "JB has a great young group, it's a hell of an offensive team. And we just didn't make enough plays tonight.
"We just try to get to the game and as a staff, put our brains together and put together the best package possible. It's not going to be perfect, circumstances are what they are.
"I feel we're still in a position to win a game and we came up short."
From 99-99 with under half a minute remaining, LaMelo Ball sank the decisive shot and Miles Bridges made sure with two late free throws.
The Bucks looked to Middleton and Antetokounmpo in those late stages, which Ham said was the sensible play.
"Down the stretch you want the ball in the hands of your two best players and that was definitely deliberate," Ham said.
"Time and time again ... they've won a championship playing that way. There's not a better option in my opinion."
It gets no easier for the Bucks, who must tackle the Western Conference-leading Golden State Warriors on Thursday, albeit this time with home advantage.
Middleton, who had a fourth consecutive 20-plus point game, wants to see this slide halted as soon as possible.
He said: "I think you're definitely concerned – you never want to lose four out of five, you never want to lose two in a row."
Quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Middleton said: "We understand the circumstances. We're not using that as an excuse. Everybody's going through it.
"So we still have to find a way to… compete and give ourselves a chance to win, which we have these last two nights, we just couldn't pull it out."
Kvitova defeats Cirstea to join Rybakina in the Miami Open final
Petra Kvitova is through to her 41st WTA singles final after defeating Sorana Cirstea 7-5 6-4 in Friday's Miami Open semi-final.
Kvitova, 33, already has 29 singles titles under her belt, including eight at the WTA 1000 level. Despite showing she can still compete with the best – making the final at the 2019 Dubai Championships, the 2020 Qatar Open and the 2022 Cincinnati Open, her last WTA 1000 victory came at the 2018 Madrid Open.
Against Romania's Cirstea – who came into the contest with nine wins from her past 10 matches – Czech veteran Kvitova was put on the back foot early as her serve was broken to go 5-2 down.
But she saved two set points, and used that momentum to ignite a run of seven consecutive games, taking the first set and the early break in the second as a result.
Kvitova did not allow Cirstea to produce a single break point opportunity in the second set, winning 75 per cent (21-of-28) of her total service points to slam the door shut.
With the win, Kvitova joined Chris Evert and Serena Williams as the only women to ever reach the Miami Open final after turning 33 years old, booking her place against the hottest talent on the tour – Elena Rybakina – in the decider.
Rybakina has won her past 13 matches, and is looking to become the fifth woman to ever complete the Sunshine Double after eliminating both world number one Iga Swiatek and world number two Aryna Sabalenka to lift the Indian Wells Open title.
Philadelphia Union v Sporting Kansas City: Preview and prediction
Jim Curtin has promised supporters they will see the Philadelphia Union of old in Saturday's showdown with Sporting Kansas City at Subaru Park.
The Union finished top of the Eastern Conference last season en route to losing the MLS Cup final to Los Angeles FC, but they have made a sluggish start to the 2023 campaign.
Philly have lost three of their opening five matches, including back-to-back defeats against a struggling CF Montreal side and Orlando City in their past two outings.
But with winless Sporting up next this weekend, Curtin is hoping to see a response from his players.
"I think the group will have a good response against Kansas City," Curtin said ahead of Union's first home match against Sporting since the MLS is Back quarter-finals in 2020.
"Win, lose or draw we want to put on a good display to our fans and show that we are still a very good team that had a bad outing last game.
"We have players returning and have had a couple of days with them, so we should be pretty much full strength going into the Kansas match."
Sporting have themselves made a slower-than-expected start to the season, having taken just two points from their first five games.
Like Philadelphia, they enter the game on the back of successive defeats, but experienced head coach Peter Vermes knows how quickly things can change.
"It's easy to think negative things, saying what players can't do, but it's amazing how fast a team can turn that, then you ask 'well how did they do that?'," he said.
"A lot of it is to do with plugging away, keep fighting. I've said it before: we've got a good group here and we'll get there."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Philadelphia Union – Andre Blake
Philadelphia's defeats to Montreal and Orlando came in the absence of Blake, whom Curtin this week described as "the best goalkeeper that our league has".
Joe Bendik conceded five goals across those two matches, but Curtin is hopeful Blake will be back between the sticks on Saturday.
Sporting Kansas City – Erik Thommy
Two goals scored in five games is a hugely underwhelming return for Sporting, even more so when you consider they have had 76 shots this term – only Philadelphia have had as many.
Thommy has been heavily involved in an attacking sense, but he has yet to score this campaign and that quite simply has to change if Sporting are to turn things around.
MATCH PREDICTION – PHILADELPHIA WIN
Philadelphia have clearly lacked the consistency of last season so far in 2023, having lost two MLS games in a row for the first time since September 2021.
The defeat to Orlando last weekend brought an end to the Union's 13-match winning streak on home soil, which was the second-longest run of any side in league history.
But Sporting have really struggled so far, with this only the second time they have gone winless in their first five games, and this seems a good chance for Philly to kick-start their season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Philadelphia Union - 62.1 per cent
Sporting KC - 14.8 per cent
Draw - 23.1 per cent
Seven-time NBA All-Star Aldridge officially retires
LaMarcus Aldridge, a seven-time All-Star who scored over 20,000 points over an accomplished 16-year NBA career, officially announced his retirement on Friday.
Aldridge has not played this season after appearing in 47 games with the Brooklyn Nets in 2021-22.
The 37-year-old briefly retired following the 2020-21 season after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat but returned to the Nets the following September after receiving medical clearance.
And Aldridge channelled one of the great sports stars in his announcement.
"In the words of [Tom Brady], you only get one big, emotional retirement," Aldridge wrote on his Twitter account.
"So, on that note... I'm thankful for all the memories, family and friends I made throughout my career. It was one hell of a ride and I enjoyed every min!"
Aldridge entered the NBA in 2006 as the second overall pick of that year's draft following a standout career at the University of Texas.
He spent his first nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers and is the franchise's career leader in rebounds, while his 12,562 points in a Blazers uniform trail only Damian Lillard and Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler.
The power forward made four All-Star teams in Portland and was an All-NBA second team selection in his final season with the Blazers in 2014-15 after averaging a career-high 23.4 points per game.
Aldridge left Portland following that season to return to his native Texans by signing a four-year, $80million contract with the San Antonio Spurs. He earned three more All-Star selections over six seasons with San Antonio and again garnered second team All-NBA honours in 2017-18.
The Spurs bought out Aldridge's contract in March 2021 and he signed with the Nets just days afterward in hopes of winning a first NBA championship, though he played just five games over the remainder of that season due to a rapid heartbeat that led to his temporary retirement.
Aldridge became the 48th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points during his final season and finished his career with 20,558 points, good for 46th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
He is one of only 16 players in league history to record 20,000 points and 1,000 blocked shots in a career.
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