Bucks at 76ers
The Milwaukee Bucks were in line for the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference before a three-game slide knocked them back into the scrum of teams still fighting to secure a postseason spot. The Bucks will try to pull out of the skid when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers in the finale of a three-game road trip on Saturday.
Milwaukee enters play on Friday in the No. 6 spot, a half-game behind fifth-place Atlanta and one ahead of the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers - tied for the seventh and eighth spots. "We've just got to get back to defending," Bucks center Greg Monroe told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We have to get our urgency back up. We did so much to get to this position, and we're letting it slip away a little bit. These last three games we've got to get back to that urgency. Guys want to win, but we're playing a little tight. We've just got to get back to trusting ourselves and playing with that confidence, playing a little loose." The 76ers are playing loose but are having some trouble finding the win column with five straight losses. Philadelphia already shut down centers Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid and small forward Robert Covington and is fighting through injuries to fellow youngsters Dario Saric and T.J. McConnell.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE BUCKS (40-39): Milwaukee will face two teams outside of the top eight in the East - Philadelphia and Charlotte - before finishing out the regular season at Boston and needs to find some offense after averaging 84 points in losses at Oklahoma City and Indiana to begin the road trip. "In March and April, everyone is trying to win," Bucks coach Jason Kidd told reporters. "The teams that are not in the playoffs are trying to win, too. They're trying to get better. You can't take anybody lightly and you can't exhale. We have to get back to being the aggressors." The Bucks could use more from shooting guard Khris Middleton, who is averaging 10.7 points on 13-of-36 shooting over the last three games.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (28-51): Saric became the favorite to win Rookie of the Year when Embiid was shut down and is still going strong despite a left heel injury that forced Philadelphia to put him on a minutes restriction. Saric managed nine points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes in Thursday's 102-90 loss to the Chicago Bulls. "I tried to push myself as much as possible," Saric told reporters after the loss. "At this part of the season, and of course I care, I just want to help the team. I try to compete even with my minutes, and play with pressure. We are doing a very good job, and the organization is doing a great job."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bucks G Malcolm Brogdon (back) sat out the last four games and is questionable to return on Saturday.
2. McConnell suffered a sprained left ankle in Thursday's setback and is day-to-day.
3. Philadelphia took the first two meetings this season but dropped a 112-98 decision at home to Milwaukee on March 6.