Knicks at Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks won three in a row to pull themselves back into the race for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference and will try to make it four straight when they host the New York Knicks on Wednesday. The Bucks are 7-3 over their last 10 games to pull out of a lengthy funk that saw them drop out of playoff contention.
Milwaukee picked up impressive home wins over the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors over the weekend before taking a brief road trip on Monday and knocking off the Philadelphia 76ers 112-98. Leading the team in the last three games was All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is 25-of-39 from the floor in the three contests after shooting under 40 percent in the two previous - both losses. The Knicks are coming off a 113-105 win over the Orlando Magic in which star forward Carmelo Anthony sat out to rest a sore left knee. The 32-year-old small forward played 35 minutes in Sunday's loss to the Golden State Warriors but failed to reach 20 points in any of his last three games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FSN Wisconsin
ABOUT THE KNICKS (26-38): New York is trying to figure out what pieces to keep moving forward and took long looks to the backcourt duo of Chasson Randle and Justin Holiday off the bench on Monday. Randle, who was signed after the Knicks waived veteran Brandon Jennings, logged a career-high 26 minutes in the win and delivered seven points, five rebounds, five assists and no turnovers. Holiday, who bounced in and out of the rotation this season, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 25 minutes.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (29-33): Milwaukee is 1 1/2 games behind the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls, who occupy the final two spots in the East playoff race. The Bucks are happy to have Khris Middleton back in the lineup at shooting guard, and he is averaging 19.3 points in four games this month after sitting out the first three months with a hamstring injury. Middleton finally got some help on the perimeter Monday from swingman Tony Snell, who went 5-of-7 from 3-point range and 8-of-11 from the floor after shooting under 40 percent in each of the previous three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bucks rookie G Malcolm Brogdon is 10-of-19 from 3-point range in the last five games.
2. Knicks C Wily Hernangomez is 11-of-15 from the floor in two games since returning from an ankle injury.
3. The teams split a home-and-home set in early January, with New York earning a 116-111 win in Milwaukee on Jan. 6.