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Spurs-Bucks Preview

Dec 25, 2009 - 4:17 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

San Antonio (15-11) at Milwaukee (12-15), 8:30 p.m. EDT

A two-game trip against Eastern Conference teams with poor records could help the San Antonio Spurs get back on the winning track.

It begins with Richard Jefferson returning to the Bradley Center on Saturday night when the Spurs try to complete a season sweep of the Milwaukee Bucks.

San Antonio (15-11) is 2-10 against teams that are .500 or better, but has won 13 straight against teams which currently own losing records since a 92-85 loss at Chicago on Oct. 29. The Spurs lost for the second time in eight games Wednesday with a 98-94 home defeat to Portland.

"I don't pay too much attention to that," guard Roger Mason said. "A lot of times it's not so much who we are playing but how we are handling our assessments and our assignments and doing the things we are supposed to do."

The Spurs will visit New York on Sunday after Jefferson makes his return to Milwaukee (12-15). Jefferson averaged a team-high 19.6 points in 2008-09 in his only season with Milwaukee with an injured Michael Redd limited to 33 games.

San Antonio acquired Jefferson from Milwaukee in the offseason for three players, with only Kurt Thomas remaining on the Bucks roster. Jefferson, though, is scoring 13.4 points per game for his lowest average since his 2001-02 rookie season with New Jersey.

Jefferson wasn't much of a factor with 11 points in a 112-98 home victory over Milwaukee on Nov. 23. Tim Duncan had 24 points and 12 rebounds as the Spurs led by as many as 21 points.

A 12-point effort in that loss marked the start of the decline for Milwaukee rookie Brandon Jennings, who averaged 25.3 points in the Bucks' 8-3 start prior to that contest. Milwaukee has since lost 12 of 16, with the point guard averaging 15.8 points on 34.6 percent shooting.

Jennings had the worst game of his career after getting into early foul trouble Wednesday in a 109-97 home loss to Washington. He went 3 of 9 from the field for a season-worst seven points and committed three turnovers in a season-low 16 minutes.

"He looked out of sorts from the very beginning and looked tentative and then got fouls," coach Scott Skiles said. "This hasn't happened to him very much where he's had to deal with foul trouble in a game."

Redd made his first start at home since Oct. 31 and scored a season-high 32 points.

While the Bucks are trying to figure out how to get Jennings going again, the Spurs are looking for answers to their uneven play. San Antonio had its streak of scoring at least 100 points in eight straight games end Wednesday as it trailed the entire fourth quarter.

"It was a real tough loss," coach Gregg Popovich said. "I thought that down the stretch in the fourth quarter we started to play with more aggressiveness and more urgency - which we didn't have in early parts of the game."

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who missed the first meeting with Milwaukee with a groin strain, is averaging 8.4 points over his last five games on 30.6 percent shooting.