Milwaukee @ Indiana preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 2, 2018 ) Indiana 103, Milwaukee 96

The Indiana Pacers will try to take out the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in four days when the Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls meet Monday in Indianapolis. The Pacers' 6-2 surge includes Friday's 103-96 victory at Milwaukee, which has moved them into fourth place in the East - just one-half game behind Cleveland for third and two ahead of the seventh-place Bucks.

Indiana followed that big win with another at fifth-place Washington on Sunday, riding Victor Oladipo's 33-point performance in the finale of its four-game road trip. "We're going to have to grind it out the rest of the year," Oladipo told reporters. "It's playoff basketball the rest of the year." The loss to Indiana was the fourth in a row for Milwaukee, but it bounced back with a 118-110 win over Philadelphia on Sunday behind 35 points, nine rebounds and seven assists from Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks twice erased a 19-point deficit and held the 76ers to 38 in the second half en route to their first home victory since Feb. 13.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FS Indiana

ABOUT THE BUCKS (34-29): Erasing two large deficits to snap a troublesome slide made for a big statement win by Milwaukee, which follows its visit to Indiana with a home game against NBA-leading Houston on Wednesday. "It's a testament to the character, it's something we've seen numerous times here. ... The bottom line is, the game is 48 minutes," coach Joe Prunty told reporters. "The more we can stay focused through the whole time, even if they go on a run, the better off we're gonna be, and tonight that's a true testament to all the guys staying focused, staying in the game. It's a good win for us." Antetokounmpo shot 38.4 percent from the floor during the four-game slide, including a 6-for-18 showing against the Pacers, but he was on the mark in 14 of his 23 shot attempts in the win over Philadelphia.

ABOUT THE PACERS (36-27): Due in large part to a poor stretch run against the Wizards during which Indiana nearly lost all of a 17-point lead, its starters were forced to carry a heavy load in the front half of a back-to-back set, and four of them played at least 38 minutes. Oladipo hit the 30-point mark for the fourth time in his last 10 games and has made at least three steals seven times during that stretch. Bojan Bogdanovic bounced back from a 1-for-4 showing from the floor in the win over Milwaukee to produce 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting versus Washington.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bucks PF Jabari Parker is 9-for-16 from 3-point range over a five-game span.

2. Trevor Booker, who was signed by the Pacers on Saturday after being waived by Philadelphia, is expected to join the team on Monday.

3. Milwaukee SF Khris Middleton led all players with 30 points in Friday's matchup.

PREDICTION: Pacers 108, Bucks 104