Wizards at Bucks
The Washington Wizards seek to continue their recent winning ways when they visit the worst team in the NBA on Saturday. Washington has won seven of eight games as it enters the matchup with the lowly Milwaukee Bucks and the Wizards are just 1 1/2 games behind the fourth-place Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Milwaukee is an astounding 37 games below .500 with a quarter of the season still to go and is just 7-25 at home.
Washington has won four consecutive road games as it begins a two-game trip that ends against the Miami Heat on Monday. The Wizards have posted four double-digit wins during their hot stretch and the lone loss came against the red-hot Memphis Grizzlies. Milwaukee lost to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday and has allowed 100 or more points in 12 of its last 13 games. The Bucks are home for two games before seven of their next eight contests are on the road.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (32-29): Trevor Ariza is on a roll and is a stunning 23-of-34 from 3-point range over the last five games. The veteran forward is averaging 23.8 points during the stretch, which includes a career-best 40-point effort against the Philadelphia 76ers. Ariza made four 3-pointers against Utah on Wednesday, when he tallied 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He has made a career-best 144 3-pointers – eight more than his previous high with the Houston Rockets in 2009-10 – and his 43.1 percentage from behind the arc is significantly better than his 34.8 career accuracy rate.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (12-49): Forward Jeff Adrien is getting the opportunity to play after being acquired from the Charlotte Bobcats at the trading deadline and he has put together several strong outings in his seven games with the team. Adrien has been in double digits on the boards five times and scored a career-high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds in the loss to the Pelicans. He scored 15 points two nights earlier against Sacramento and has made 11-of-17 shots over the last two outings. He is averaging 9.1 points and nine rebounds for the Bucks.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams have split two meetings this season – both of which were decided in overtime.
2. Wizards F Martell Webster (back) could return after missing the previous two games.
3. Milwaukee F Ersan Ilyasova will return after serving a one-game suspension for punching Sacramento’s Reggie Evans.