The Milwaukee Bucks traded longtime forward Khris Middleton to the Washington Wizards last season in a misguided playoff push. On Monday, Middleton’s big shots sent his old team to its eighth loss in nine games. Middleton scored 15 points, including eight in the final four minutes, as his Wizards beat the Bucks, 129-126. He gave the Wizards the lead by scoring five straight points late, then his old teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a free throw and fouled out in the final seconds. Middleton made three All-Star teams and won a title with the Bucks alongside Antetokounmpo, but struggled with injuries that forced him to miss 102 games in his last three seasons in Milwaukee. The Bucks, desperate to make a playoff push with Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, traded Middleton to the Wizards, along with a 2028 first-round pick and their 2024 first-round pick, AJ Johnson, to get forward Kyle Kuzma. Kuzma didn’t end up being the third star Milwaukee wanted. He averaged 14.5 points and shot 33.3 percent from three
