The New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks head into the final weeks of their respective difficult seasons when they meet at the Bradley Center on Tuesday.
The Bucks (24-48) have the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference while the Knicks (20-53) own the second-worst record, ahead of only the NBA-worst Miami Heat.Milwaukee, which has 10 games left, comes into Tuesday's game having lost four straight and 10 of 11, while the Knicks, who have nine games remaining in their season, have dropped 14 of their last 16.
New York has won both previous meetings against the Bucks this season, including a 99-98 victory at Milwaukee on Feb. 9, when the Knicks rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit behind 30 points from Jamal Crawford. The Knicks have won four straight meetings overall in the series.
Crawford scored 39 and added eight assists on Sunday at Atlanta, but New York fell behind by double digits while he was on the bench early in the fourth quarter. The Knicks never recovered, and the 114-109 loss dropped them to 7-29 on the road this season and 0-2 on their current five-game trip.
"He kept us in the game," coach Isiah Thomas said of Crawford. "I sat him down early in the fourth to give him a breather, but the game got out of hand. When I brought him back in it was too late. We were never able to close the gap again."
David Lee added 17 points and 10 rebounds for New York.
The Knicks were without second-leading scorer Zach Randolph, who missed the game with flu-like symptoms. Randolph is averaging 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in the two games against the Bucks this season.
Milwaukee looks to snap its losing streak after a late comeback attempt fell short Saturday in a 114-111 loss to the Bulls in Chicago.
The Bucks trailed by 21 points in the fourth quarter before going on a 19-2 run to pull within four. Chicago held on, however, as Milwaukee fell to 15-12 when scoring more than 100 points.
Michael Redd scored 33 points to lead the Bucks, while Charlie Villanueva added 26 points and nine rebounds.
"Very happy the fact that we responded even though we were down 20-plus at one point," said Redd, who was 13-for-27 from the field after going 3-for-16 for seven points in a loss to Orlando the previous night. "We just did a terrific job of just fighting."
Milwaukee was without center Andrew Bogut, who has missed the last two games and is considered day-to-day with a nasal fracture.
