Khris Middleton is unconcerned by his bench role after his best game of 2023 during the Milwaukee Bucks' win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.
The small forward posted 18 points, three rebounds and three assists to help his side pull away in the third quarter en route to a 124-115 victory.
Having struggled with soreness in his right knee that led him to missing 18 games, the three-time All-Star has worked his way back in recent weeks.
After delivering the best performance of his latest comeback spell, Middleton stressed he remains untroubled by performing a role that requires him to come off the sidelines.
"I started my career coming off the bench, so it doesn't really bother me at all," he said. "I've been on the bench before, not playing games.
"Sometimes, [I am] coming in [the] first quarter, [the] second quarter or not until the second half. I just know I have to stay ready and have to be loose.
"Right now, I'm trying to be as aggressive as I can. I know it sounds simple, but that's just the mindset I'm trying to come up with, especially with my limited minutes.
"Hopefully as my minutes keep going [up], I keep the same mindset, because it's been working."
Middleton featured for 20 minutes as team-mate Giannis Antetokounmpo guided the Bucks to victory with 34 points and 18 rebounds.
They next play the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday and then the Miami Heat two days later in a double home stand.
Fever's Clark scores career-high 31 to win final matchup with fellow rookie Reese
Before a sellout crowd of 9,445, Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 31 points to go with 12 assists in her final regular-season matchup with fellow rookie sensation Angel Reese to lead the Indiana Fever to a100-81 rout of the reeling Chicago Sky on Friday night.
Clark became the only player in league history with three games of at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in a season. She was 8 for 14 from the field, including 5 for 9 from 3-point range, in her 11th double-double.
Reese tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds, breaking a tie with Tina Charles for rookie double-doubles with 23 and passing Sylvia Fowles for the Chicago season record. Reese got the record with 1:32 remaining, long after Clark and the other Indiana starters left the game. She also has a rookie record 399 rebounds.
Clark may have locked up the top spot in the much-hyped Rookie of the Year race as the Fever (16-16) beat the Sky (11-20) for the third time in four matchups, solidifying their probable playoff berth while Chicago is barely hanging on to the last spot as the season winds down.
Warriors, Curry agree to one-year, $62.6million contract extension
The Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry have agreed to terms on a one-year, $62.6million contract extension that will keep the four-time NBA champion with the only franchise he’s ever played for through the 2026-27 season.
That campaign will be the 18th in the NBA for Curry, who is slated to earn $55.7million next season and $59.6million in 2025-26.
Curry, who captured a gold medal with Team USA at the Paris Olympics earlier this month, has won four NBA titles and two league Most Valuable Player Awards while also earning 10 All-Star selections.
The 36-year-old guard was the MVP of the 2022 NBA Finals as well as the MVP of the NBA All-Star Game that season, and he’s been named to the All-NBA First Team four times.
Drafted by Golden State with the seventh overall pick in 2009, Curry is the all-time NBA leader with 3,747 made 3-pointers and is 10th in league history with a 42.6 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
Curry is also the best free-throw shooter in NBA history at 91.0 percent.
Caitlin Clark continues record-breaking rookie season with latest landmark
Caitlin Clark has again written her name into the record books following her latest performance for the Indiana Fever.
Clark, the first overall pick in this year's draft, has already set a number of benchmarks in her rookie WNBA season.
And that continued on Saturday even as the Fever lost 90-80 to the Minnesota Lynx.
Clark finished with 23 points and eight assists, and in doing so improved her seasonal tally to 520 points and 240 assists.
She is now the youngest player in WNBA history to pass 500 points and 200 assists.
Clark had already set a new record for assists in a rookie WNBA season, with her performances keeping the Fever on course for the playoffs.
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