Hornets at Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks finally clinched a playoff spot over the weekend, but where they will end up being seeded in the Eastern Conference has yet to be determined. The Bucks continue to push for the No. 5 spot in the East on Monday, when they host the already-eliminated Charlotte Hornets.
Milwaukee seemed like a lock for the fifth spot before a three-game slide dropped it behind Atlanta, and a 90-82 win at Philadelphia on Saturday - combined with the Hawks' win over Cleveland on Sunday - left the Bucks one game back in the race. "When the playoffs start, we're going to be ready," Milwaukee All-Star small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo told reporters after Saturday's win. "It's not going to be fun to play against us in the playoffs, because we're going to play hard defensively and run, move the ball. We don't have anything to lose. We achieved our goal and now we have to go even farther." The Hornets made a run at one of the final playoff spots in the East before falling off the pace with three straight losses last week, all to conference rivals ahead of them in the standings. Charlotte officially was eliminated from contention after a 121-114 home loss to Boston on Saturday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (36-44): Shooting guard Nicolas Batum scored 31 points in Saturday's loss and was upset that his team's season is due to be over on Wednesday. "We’re a playoff team," Batum told reporters. "We know that. We didn’t make it this year. In five months, we’ll work on it. ... I'm going to be back in the gym in two weeks. I'm going to dedicate my summer to this franchise. ... I'm going to be back on the court and work on myself, be back next year and bring this team back." Batum is averaging 27.5 points over his last two games and a career-best 15.4 on the season after posting 14.9 in his first season with the Hornets in 2015-16.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (41-39): Center Greg Monroe scored in single digits in four straight games before busting out of the slump with 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting in Saturday's win. "Now the real work begins," Monroe, who will be in the playoffs for the first time in his seven-year career, told reporters. "We did a lot to get here and we've still got two games. We've got to take care of business these last two games." Monroe was quick to point out the team's defensive effort after limiting the 76ers to 35.1 percent shooting - a nice departure after each of its previous three opponents shot at least 47 percent.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Charlotte PG Kemba Walker (240) needs four made 3-pointers to break the franchise record set by Jason Richardson in 2007-08.
2. Milwaukee rookie SG Malcolm Brogdon (back) has missed the last five games and remains day-to-day.
3. The teams split the first two meetings this season, with each winning on the road.