76ers at Bucks
THE STORY: The Philadelphia 76ers have clinched a playoff spot. Next on the agenda is posting a winning record for the first time in six seasons. Philadelphia can assure that it will finish with at least a .500 record by defeating the host Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. The 76ers assured themselves of a playoff spot with Friday’s 115-90 victory over the New Jersey Nets. It rates as a nice turnaround from last season’s 27-55 record and goes a long way towards why the name of coach Doug Collins is being tossed about for Coach of the Year honors. Milwaukee is seeing its playoff possibilities shrink as the Bucks lost to Indiana on Friday to fall four games behind the Pacers for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSP, FSWI
ABOUT THE BUCKS (30-45): Milwaukee suffered a drenching 89-88 loss to the Pacers when Drew Gooden’s buzzer-beating 3-point attempt was off the mark. It gives the Bucks three losses in four games at a time when Milwaukee has no margin for error. Brandon Jennings scored 20 points for his fourth 20-point outing in five games and Andrew Bogut tallied 16 points. Forward Corey Maggette scored 13 points in just his second appearance since mid-March. The Bucks’ next three games are on the road – at Orlando on Tuesday, Miami on Wednesday and Detroit on Friday. Milwaukee has a 11-26 road record.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (40-36): Philadelphia has won three straight games after trouncing New Jersey. Thaddeus Young scored 22 points and Elton Brand tallied 21 points. Jrue Holiday had a solid all-around game with 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Being part of the playoff field didn’t seem like a possibility when the Sixers got off to a 3-13 start. But they are 14 games over .500 since the horrid start and are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia played one of its worst games of the season the last time it visited Milwaukee, scoring a season-low 74 points during a 28-point loss.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Young is averaging 21.7 points and shooting 63.8 percent over the last three games. Jennings is averaging 24.2 points over the last five contests. Philadelphia guard Evan Turner is averaging just 2.2 points in his last five outings. Milwaukee forward Carlos Delfino is averaging just 6.3 points and shooting 26.1 percent over the last three outings.
KEY STATISTIC: Milwaukee averages a league-low 91.6 points and has topped 100 in each of its last six victories. The Bucks have scored 90 or less in each of their last 10 defeats. Philadelphia allows 97.7 per game.
SEASON SERIES: Philadelphia has won two of the three meetings, both coming at home. The 76ers won 90-79 on Nov. 19 and 95-94 on Jan. 14. Milwaukee won easily on its homecourt, 102-74 on March 12.
KEY INJURIES: PHILADELPHIA: C Tony Battie (flu). MILWAUKEE: G Chris Douglas-Roberts (ankle); F Jon Brockman (shoulder); F Ersan Ilyasova (concussion).
LAST WORD: “To get in the playoffs is a special feeling. Now that we’re in, we can focus on winning more games. I’m elated but we have a lot of work to do before the playoffs.” – Philadelphia forward Elton Brand after the 76ers clinched a playoff spot on Friday.