Preview: Bucks at Pacers

[April 06, 2017]  The Indiana Pacers snapped out of their funk and kept a loose grip on a spot in the top eight in the Eastern Conference with a win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. The Pacers will try to secure back-to-back wins for the first time since early February and knock off another team above them in the East when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

Indiana ended a four-game slide by overcoming a 19-point deficit and running away in the fourth quarter for a 108-90 victory over the Raptors, keeping the Pacers in the No. 8 spot in the East but just a half-game up on the ninth-place Miami Heat. "We had to play some defense and force them to make tough shots, which they did," Indiana star forward Paul George told reporters. "I thought in the long haul, we wore them down, we made good shots, we moved the ball, we got into a good rhythm. And this crowd, we all benefitted from it." The Bucks are trying to earn the No. 5 spot in the East but dropped their last two games and were blown off the floor in a 110-79 loss at Oklahoma City on Tuesday. "The important thing is for us to get back to our flow and what we were doing before these last two games," Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo told reporters. "We were playing hard defensively and I believe our effort was really high before those two games and our offense was a lot cleaner."

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

ABOUT THE BUCKS (40-38): Milwaukee occupies the No. 5 spot in the East but is just a half-game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks and two up on the Chicago Bulls and the Pacers in the seventh and eight spots. The Bucks will play three of their final four games on the road - where they are 18-20 - and they know they need a better effort than what they showed on Tuesday. "We've got to shake this one off and get back to work (Wednesday)," veteran shooting guard Jason Terry told reporters after the loss. "... It was a lack of execution on our part, totally on the players. We've got to play with more pride than we did."

ABOUT THE PACERS (38-40): Indiana gained a bit of an edge emotionally by re-signing Lance Stephenson and inserting him into the lineup for his first home game on Tuesday. The mercurial swingman, who had his best seasons for the Pacers from 2012-14, played the entire fourth quarter and finished with 12 points - two coming in the final seconds with the game already decided and upsetting the Toronto players. "The energy in the building was electric tonight and I thought Lance brought that energy to the court," coach Nate McMillan told reporters. "The second half, his energy, his ability to push the ball, create offense, was evident. He's just playing."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bucks G Malcolm Brogdon (back) sat out the last three games and is not expected to play Thursday.

2. George is averaging 33 points and shooting 44.9 percent from 3-point range over the last five games.

3. Milwaukee took the first three meetings and is going for its first season sweep of Indiana since 2009-10.

PREDICTION: Bucks 106, Pacers 103

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