Bucks at Wizards
The Milwaukee Bucks look to bounce back from a disappointing home loss to Dallas in Wednesday's matchup with the Washington Wizards, who have lost five of their last seven games. Milwaukee has a comfortable lead over Toronto for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, but its hopes of moving up the standings took a hit with a 115-108 loss to the Mavericks on Tuesday. Boston and Atlanta stand 1 1/2 games ahead of the Bucks in the East, and both teams lost on Tuesday.
Milwaukee and Washington have split their first two meetings, with each team losing at home. Wizards rookie Bradley Beal, who averaged 25 points in the first two games against Milwaukee, remains questionable after missing the last four games with a sprained left ankle. The Wizards could also be without forward Trevor Ariza, who left Tuesday’s game with a bruised left knee.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet (Washington)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (32-30): Guard Brandon Jennings was held to a season-low four points against Dallas, but backcourt mate Monta Ellis continued his strong play with 32 points. Ellis has scored at least 20 points in every game this month, and he’s averaging 23.7 points since the All-Star break. Guard J.J. Redick, center Larry Sanders and forward Ersan Ilyasova all returned to action against the Mavericks after missing Sunday’s win over the Kings with minor injuries.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (20-42): Guard John Wall had season highs of 27 points and 14 assists in a 95-90 loss at Cleveland on Tuesday, and he is averaging 17.8 points over his last six games. Forward Martell Webster hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points against the Cavaliers, and he’ll likely see a boost in playing time if Ariza is out for an extended period. Center Emeka Okafor, who recorded his 18th double-double on Tuesday, had 12 points and 10 boards against the Bucks in a 102-90 loss on Feb. 11.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Milwaukee is 7-9 in the second game of a back-to-back.
2. Wall is shooting 35.2 percent from the field in eight career games against Milwaukee.
3. The Bucks have won four of their last five games on the road.