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Desperate Bucks visit Orlando

Apr 5, 2011 - 2:55 PM (Sports Network) - The Milwaukee Bucks hope to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they pay a visit to the Orlando Magic tonight at Amway Center.

Milwaukee is three games behind Indiana for the eighth and final postseason berth in the East with only six games to go. It stayed alive in the playoff hunt with Saturday's 93-87 overtime win versus Philadelphia.

John Salmons scored 19 points and Brandon Jennings contributed 13, including three big shots in the extra frame, for the Bucks, who won for only the second time in five tries.

"Both teams early on looked a little fatigued," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "We weren't as sharp as we would have liked to have been, but we hung in there and had a very good defense the last 2 1/2 quarters."

The Bucks are 11-26 away from the Bradley Center this season.

Orlando is pretty much locked in at the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference despite dropping three of four games since a five-game win streak.

In Sunday's 102-98 setback in Toronto, Dwight Howard had 31 points and nine rebounds and saw his string of 33 consecutive double-doubles come to an end. Jameer Nelson ended with 21 points and both Brandon Bass and Jason Richardson tallied 13 points for Orlando.

"They out-hustled us, they out-quicked us. They just totally outplayed us and they deserved to win," said Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy. "You don't see teams get out-rebounded by 18. That's absurd."

Van Gundy's squad lost the battle on the glass, 48-30, but is 27-11 in the Magic Kingdom this season. Orlando has won three in a row at Amway Center and may not have guard Gilbert Arenas tonight because of flu-like symptoms. Arenas is listed as questionable for Tuesday.

The Magic have won two of three meetings with Milwaukee this season and 15 of the previous 20 contests in the series. The Bucks look to end a 10-game slide as the visitor in this series since their playoff lives are depending on it.