The Milwaukee Bucks will be seeking to exact immediate revenge on Wednesday when they face the Magic in Orlando for the second time in three days.

The Magic’s 118-99 victory on Monday was their third straight, while also ending Milwaukee’s own winning streak at three.

Preparation and motivation won’t be issues for the Bucks, as far as coach Doc Rivers is concerned.

“It’s easy — you’re playing the same team,” Rivers said. “I love these in some ways; in some ways I don’t. I do like that the second game is spirited, more competitive. Guys bump into each other during the game, then they see each other in (two) days.”

With one eye on the bench-clearing brawl that marred the Detroit Pistons’ win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, Rivers wanted to see more scrap from his team on the same night.

“I wish we had gotten into a fight (Monday),” he said, partly in jest. “Not literally a fight. I just thought they (Magic) were the more physical team.”

Orlando trampled Milwaukee 67-45 after halftime, including a particularly one-sided 36-20 third quarter.

The Magic ratcheted up their defensive hostility during those 12 minutes, scoring 10 of their points off five Bucks turnovers.

“They were very physical,” said Kevin Porter Jr., who scored 28 points. “We’ve got to match their physicality. First quarter I felt like we were bumping a little bit, but as the game went on, they continued to bump and we kind of let off. It turned into fouls for them.

“The more aggressive team usually gets those calls. We’ve just got to match their physicality next game.”

Porter is promising a tougher, more ready Milwaukee outfit for the return bout, even if the Bucks remain without their marquee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf).

“We’re going to be way more prepared come Wednesday,” he said. “We don’t want to lose to any team twice, so we need that one Wednesday.”

Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley likes the way his team’s defense is progressing, but stopped short of comparing it to the gold-embossed levels of the NFL’s newly crowned Super Bowl champions.

“It’s getting there,” he said. “It’s definitely getting there. It’s not necessarily the ‘Dark Side’ like the Seattle Seahawks’ defense, but we’re getting there.”

Mosley’s 172nd victory at the helm saw him move into third place for most victories by a coach in Magic history, surpassing Rivers (171).

Mosley trails only Brian Hill (267) and Stan Van Gundy (259).

Anthony Black posted 26 points against Milwaukee, Desmond Bane added 25 and the Wagner brothers — Franz and Moritz — combined for 28 off the bench.

“I feel good — I feel as I should at this point,” said wing Franz Wagner, who paired 14 points with five assists inside 17 minutes in his return from a nine-game absence with a left ankle sprain.

“Still working my way back, and obviously got to find a rhythm out there. But pleased with how I played and hopefully helped with the win.”

Orlando is chasing its third consecutive success against the Bucks, after Milwaukee had taken 19 of the previous 21 encounters.

–Field Level Media

Two-time major champion Justin Thomas announced Tuesday that he has been cleared for “all golf activity” as he progresses in his return from November back surgery.

“After some follow up imaging and meeting with my Dr and team, I’m officially cleared for all golf activity!,” he posted on Instagram. “It feels great to be swinging freely again and getting some reps in on the course. I’m working hard to build up my strength and stamina to get back into golf shape before competing on @pgatour. Can’t wait to get out there with the guys!”

Currently 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking, Thomas did not provide a target for his return to competition, although he said last month that he was eyeing the PGA Tour’s Florida swing. That begins with the Cognizant Classic, which takes place Feb. 26-March 1 about a half hour from Thomas’ home in Jupiter.

From there, the tour moves to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a signature event in Orlando ahead of the The Players Championship from March 12-15 in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Thomas underwent a microdiscectomy, a procedure intended to alleviate a disc problem that had been causing hip pain.

Thomas, 32, is a 16-time PGA event champion, having won the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022. He is coming off a strong 2025, capturing the RBC Heritage and finishing in the top 10 on eight occasions.

He reached as high as No. 4 and closed the year ranked fifth, but has slid to 12th with Thomas’ last event a solo 69th at the Procore Championship in September. He was then part of the losing United States Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black in New York later that month.

–Field Level Media

No. 20 Clemson is tied atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings with No. 4 Duke ahead of their showdown this weekend, but first the Tigers have to get by visiting Virginia Tech on Wednesday night.

The story for Clemson (20-4, 10-1 ACC) has been defense. The Tigers are allowing just 64.1 points per game, 11th in the nation, and have won four in a row. The Tigers’ only ACC loss came to North Carolina State in overtime.

Clemson is coming off a West Coast swing where it knocked off Stanford by two last Wednesday and dominated Cal 77-55 on Saturday. Tigers coach Brad Brownell was asked after the win over the Golden Bears if his team has peaked.

“I don’t think we talk about it,” Brownell replied. “We talk about daily work, daily improvements and focusing on what we can control and our players, but we’re also trying to enjoy the experience. It’s a long, hard season. We want our guys to be energized. We know there is a long way to go in league play.”

Clemson put on a defensive master class, holding the Bears without a field goal for almost 13 minutes in the first half and building a 19-point halftime lead. Brownell called it one of his team’s best performances of the season.

“We don’t have a bunch of guys who are big-time scorers. We have guys that are good players and guys who have bought into their roles,” Brownell said. “There are guys on our team who could play more minutes, but they sacrifice that in order for us to play the best way we think to play, which is playing a lot of guys. It’s something we have been talking about and working on since June. I think we have grown as a team.”

Clemson has a balanced scoring attack with three players averaging in double figures: RJ Godfrey (11.9), Jestin Porter (10.5) and Carter Welling (10.1).

Clemson redshirt freshman Ace Buckner, the son of former Clemson star Greg Buckner, is coming off two strong performances off the bench for the Tigers with 11 points against Stanford and 13 against Cal.

“We’re not surprised,” Brownell said of Buckner. “He’s an extremely hard worker, he’s extremely competitive. He’s had big games on both ends of the floor. I think his maturity level is probably higher than most guys his age. It’s no surprise to our staff.”

Virginia Tech (16-8, 5-6) has lost three of its last four and struggled against NC State in an 82-73 road loss Saturday.

Amani Hansberry leads the Hokies at 15.2 points per game. Neoklis Avdalas, a freshman from Greece, is averaging 12.6 points.

Avdalas had 14 points against NC State and, according to veteran coach Mike Young, was a bright spot in the defeat.

“He was great, he looked a little more like himself. He was (2-for-3) from three, he struggled early,” Young said of a player shooting 29.1% from beyond the arc this year. “If we can get him going along with (Tobi) Lawal, he had 15 rebounds, 17 points. Those are good numbers. We had some positive things we can build on.”

Clemson has won four of the last five meetings.

–Field Level Media