Former Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng powers Bucks past Oklahoma City, 110-93

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Former Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng had 19 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four blocks, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat Oklahoma City 110-93 on Thursday night.

The Thunder traded Dieng just before the deadline. The 6-foot-9 Frenchman was the G-League Finals MVP as the Oklahoma City Blue won the championship in 2024 and a Thunder reserve.

Both teams were missing important pieces.

Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers was out attending a funeral, and assistant Darvin Ham filled in. Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo was out with a right calf strain.

Oklahoma City played without reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain) and co-star Jalen Williams (right hamstring strain). Both will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.

AJ Green scored 17 points for the Bucks, and obby Portis added 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Isaiah Joe scored 17 points and Chet Holmgren added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, who were coming off road wins against the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix.

Nikola Topic, who had not played this season after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, made his NBA debut. The No. 12 pick in the 2024 draft, who also missed his first season with a torn ACL, entered the game late in the first quarter and received a loud ovation.

Topic scored his only basket on a shot from near the free-throw line early in the second quarter. He finished with two points, one rebound and one assist in 12 minutes.

Milwaukee controlled most of the first half, but a flurry by Holmgren kept the Thunder relatively close. Holmgren scored 11 points in the final 3:10 of the first half, but the Bucks led 67-55.

Milwaukee extended its lead in the third quarter, holding the Thunder to 16 points and taking an 89-73 lead into the fourth. The Bucks extended their lead to 24 points in the final period.

Bucks: At New Orleans on Friday, Feb. 20.

Thunder: Host Brooklyn on Friday, Feb. 20.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Milwaukee Bucks guard AJ Green (20) looks to pass against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) celebrates against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma celebrates against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Ousmane Dieng (21) shoots against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Ousmane Dieng drives against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV will personally carry the wooden cross through all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his first Good Friday as pontiff, marking the first time in decades that a pope carries the cross to every station.

“I think it will be an important sign because of what the pope represents, a spiritual leader in the world today, and for this voice, that everyone wants to hear, that says Christ still suffers,” Leo told reporters this week outside of the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo. “I carry all of this suffering in my prayer.”

John Paul II carried the cross for the entire procession from his first Good Friday as pontiff in 1979 until his hip surgery in 1995, when he carried it just part of the way, according to AP reports at the time.

For the first two years of his papacy, Benedict XVI carried the cross for the first station inside the Colosseum, then followed other bearers in the procession that ends on a platform on the Palatine Hill.

Pope Francis never carried the cross, but participated in the procession until his health worsened. He died after a long illness last year on Easter Monday, which fell on April 21.

Pope John Paul II was just 58 when he became pope, and was known as a hiker and outdoorsman. His two successors were in their late 70s when they began their papacies, and Francis was missing part of a lung due to a pulmonary infection as a young man.

At 70, Leo is physically fit and an avid tennis player and swimmer. Before becoming pope, Leo would work out regularly at a gym near the Vatican, with a plan befitting a man in his early 50s, according to his former trainer.

Crowds are expected to gather outside of the Colosseum for the Way of the Cross, which commemorates the final hours of Jesus’ life, from his death sentence to taking up the cross to his crucifixion, death and burial. The procession ends outside the Colosseum atop the Palatine Hill.

The meditations, which are read aloud at each station, were composed by the Rev. Francesco Patton, who was custos (or custodian) of the Holy Land 2016-25, charged, among other things, with looking after sacred sites

“The Way of the Cross is not intended for those who lead a pristinely pious or abstractly recollected life,” Patton wrote in his introduction. “Instead, it is the exercise of one who knows that faith, hope and charity must be incarnated in the real world.”

On Holy Saturday, the pontiff will preside over Easter vigil rites at St. Peter’s Square and lead Roman Catholics into Christianity’s most joyous celebration marking Christ’s resurrection.

On Easter Sunday, the pope will celebrate an open-air Mass in St. Peter’s Square before delivering his Easter message and offer the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to the city (of Rome) and the world.

Pope Leo XIV attends the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Catholic Good Friday, Friday, April 3, 2026 (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV attends the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Catholic Good Friday, Friday, April 3, 2026 (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)