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Raptors, Bucks face off up north

Jan 28, 2011 - 4:27 PM (Sports Network) - A pair of teams on the outside, looking in at the Eastern Conference playoff picture meet north of the border Friday as the slumping Toronto Raptors attempt to avoid their 10th consecutive loss when they play host to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Raptors dropped their ninth straight contest and fell to 0-2 on a three- game homestand Wednesday when Philadelphia's Marreese Speights scored a season-high 23 points and added nine rebounds, as the Sixers topped Toronto, 107-94.

DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 29 points to lead the Raptors, who are 13-33 overall and in the basement of the Atlantic Division. Andrea Bargnani scored 17 while Amir Johnson added 15 points in the loss.

Jose Calderon tallied a game-high 13 assists for Toronto, which has lost four straight at Air Canada Centre, its longest home losing streak since a five- game hiccup from March 29-April 9, 2006.

"We just wanted to contain DeRozan and Bargnani, they're go-to guys," Sixers forward Elton Brand said. "We came out flat in the first quarter then [Speights] came alive in the second quarter off the bench and gave us a big lift."

The Bucks, meanwhile, snapped a two-game skid on Wednesday when Corey Maggette scored 22 points as Milwaukee came back to defeat Atlanta, 98-90, at Bradley Center.

Earl Boykins scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Bucks overcame an 11-point deficit during the final 12 minutes. Carlos Delfino chipped in 15 points for the banged-up Bucks, who are currently 1 1/2 games behind Charlotte for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

"It's amazing how different a team looks when they make shots," Boykins said. "We didn't do anything we haven't done all year. We ran the exact same plays, we just made shots."

Milwaukee starting point guard Brandon Jennings is expected to miss his 19th straight game tonight with a broken left foot but is getting closer to a return. Meanwhile, swingman John Salmons (strained right hip) and forward Drew Gooden (plantar fasciitis) have both been sidelined recently and are listed as day-to-day.

Milwaukee took two of the three meetings from Toronto last season with each team holding serve on its home floor. The Bucks have lost two straight and four of their last five in Air Canada Centre.