Philadelphia @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 29, 2018 ) Philadelphia 95, Milwaukee 107

The Milwaukee Bucks are sinking in the Eastern Conference with four straight losses. One of the teams taking advantage of that swoon is the Philadelphia 76ers, who jumped in front of the Bucks in the standings and will try to make the advantage even larger when they visit Milwaukee on Sunday.

The Bucks looked set to make a big move in the East after earning an overtime win at East-leading Toronto coming out of the All-Star break but have since fallen to four straight playoff hopefuls, including a 103-96 setback to the Indiana Pacers at home on Friday. "We've been through this before, it's nothing new," guard Khris Middleton told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We're going to stay together. We've got two winnable games coming up, one at home, one against the Pacers right back. We've got to focus on Philly. We can't worry about these last couple games. I know they were big games for us; we lost them, we've been through it before. Now we've just got to bounce back, pull together and show the kind of team that we are." The 76ers were in a similar predicament after losses to the Washington Wizards and Miami Heat but bounced back with wins over Cleveland and Charlotte to pull into sixth in the East, 1 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee. Philadelphia is 14-17 on the road and is kicking off a four-game trip at the Bucks.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, NBCS Philadelphia, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

ABOUT THE 76ERS (34-27): Philadelphia got a familiar face back when it signed veteran Ersan Ilyasova this week after he was waived by Atlanta. The power forward, who played with the 76ers last season and spent the first seven seasons of his career in Milwaukee, scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 23 minutes Friday in a 110-99 win over Charlotte. "The team's play tonight, it was just tremendous," Ilyasova told reporters after the victory. "There's a lot of talented guys, and we just play as a unit, good things will happen."

ABOUT THE BUCKS (33-29): Milwaukee's recent struggles include All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is shooting 38.5 percent from the floor over the last four games. Antetokounmpo still found a way to score 20 or more points in three of those contests and insists he is not struggling. "I don't struggle, I just miss shots," Antetokounmpo told reporters. "Struggle has nothing to do with basketball. I know what the real struggle is. Missing shots is not struggle. (Not) getting into the paint, that's not struggle. That's missing shots. That's not being able to find a way to be effective, but like I said, I have to keep trusting my training and if I can't get in the paint, I got to keep making plays. I got to find open guys and eventually, that can open up the defense and give me driving lanes."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. 76ers SG JJ Redick is 13-of-22 from the field over the last two games, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range.

2. Bucks SG Tony Snell (right thigh contusion) missed the last two games and is day-to-day.

3. Milwaukee earned a 107-95 home win over Philadelphia on Jan. 29 behind 31 points from Antetokounmpo.

PREDICTION: Bucks 110, 76ers 107