Bucks at Pacers
THE STORY: The Milwaukee Bucks are running out of time to make a move toward the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. And Friday’s date with the Indiana Pacers might be their last chance to stay in the race. The Pacers are more worried about the Charlotte Bobcats at the moment and would be glad to shed the Bucks and make it a two-team scrum. Indiana will be looking to push Milwaukee closer to playoff spectators when the teams meet Friday at Conseco Fieldhouse.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSWI, FSIN
ABOUT THE PACERS (34-42): Indiana has been a tough team to figure for most of the season., trading strong performances against top-tier teams for flops against the dregs of the NBA. The Pacers did manage to put two strong performances together earlier this week, knocking off the Boston Celtics at home, 107-100, on Monday and then avoiding a letdown with a 111-101 triumph over the lowly Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. Roy Hibbert and Danny Granger led the way against the Celtics while Darren Collison set the pace with 20 points against the Pistons. Indiana welcomed Mike Dunleavy back to the lineup after over a month spent on the sidelines with an injured thumb. His return bolsters a reserve corps that was already a strength of the team. The Pacers currently lead the Bobcats (32-42) by a game for the No. 8 spot while sitting 3 ½ behind the New York Knicks (37-38) in seventh.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (30-44): The common theme for Milwaukee lately has been an inconsistent offense. When the Bucks manage to score more than 90 points, they win. When they don’t, they lose. Milwaukee is 8-8 in March, averaging 101.9 points in the wins and 83.0 in the setbacks. Believe it or not, the offense has actually gotten much better, with six different 100-point outings this month after two in February. One of those came on Wednesday, when Milwaukee snapped a two-game slide with 104-98 victory at Toronto. Brandon Jennings led the way with 25 points and seven assists and Drew Gooden added 22 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Since going 13 straight games in double figures, Tyler Hansbrough has only scored more than eight points twice in the last six contests for Indiana. Andrew Bogut is averaging 18.3 points and 11.3 rebounds over the last four games for Milwaukee while John Salmons has slumped in the last two contests, shooting 5 of 17.
KEY STATISTIC: The Pacers got 47 points from their bench on Wednesday, led by Josh McRoberts with 15 points to go along with 13 rebounds. The Bucks welcomed former leading scorer Michael Redd back to the lineup two games ago and are easing him back in off the bench, giving them a potentially strong second unit.
SEASON SERIES: Milwaukee took the first two meetings this season but dropped the most recent matchup at home, 103-97, on Feb. 12. Granger led the way with 30 points and Collison added 22 in the victory for the Pacers. That snapped the Bucks’ six-game winning streak in the series.
KEY INJURIES: MILWAUKEE: G Chris Douglas-Roberts (ankle); F Jon Brockman (shoulder); F Larry Sanders (back); F Ersan Ilyasova (concussion). INDIANA: C Roy Hibbert (knee).
LAST WORD: “We really have an opportunity to knock Milwaukee out,” Granger said. “That will be one less team to worry about even though Charlotte is right behind us still.” Granger also noted that the Pacers could still threaten for the No. 7 spot in the conference, “We just have to pray the Knicks keep losing.”