Knicks 114 - 119 Bucks
Final
  for this game

Knicks, Bucks tangle in Brew City

Mar 9, 2012 - 4:03 PM (Sports Network) - It's time to start thinking about the playoff picture in the NBA, especially if you are on the outside, looking in.

The Milwaukee Bucks are three games behind New York for the eighth and final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference and will try to tighten things up tonight when they host the Knicks at Bradley Center.

Milwaukee hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire recently, losing for the fourth time in five games on Wednesday, a tough 106-104 setback to the mighty Bulls.

Derrick Rose crossed over once more to his left, leaving Brandon Jennings in the lurch. Then, with the final seconds ticking off, the reigning NBA MVP stepped back from 20 feet and knocked down a jumper to give Chicago its first eight-game winning streak in almost a year.

Rose, who had 30 points and 11 assists, kept the ball for the final 18.1 seconds after the Bulls inbounded the ball one last time. Working against Jennings on the right side, he backed the Bucks guard off just enough with his final dribble to get the separation he needed inside the three-point line.

Jennings scrambled to contest the try, but was too late. Rose's 22nd shot of the night dropped through the basket as smoothly as it left his hands.

"What can you say?" said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. "Another big shot."

Ersan Ilyasova had a game-high 32 points for Milwaukee with 10 rebounds and Drew Gooden scored 27. Jennings finished 4-of-18 for 11 points.

"It's a little frustrating," said Jennings. "He wasn't hitting jumpers at all the whole night...I had to play the jump shot. Just a great player."

The Knicks, meanwhile, have lost three in a row on a four-game road trip and are now 4 1/2 games behind Philadelphia in the Atlantic Division.

Most recently, Tony Parker netted 32 points and handed out six assists, and six other Spurs scored in double figures in San Antonio's 118-105 dismantling of New York on Wednesday.

Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili both finished with 17 points, while Gary Neal had 12 for the Spurs, who improved to 2-2 on a seven-game homestand. DeJuan Blair, Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter rounded out the double-digits scorers with 10 apiece.

Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points on 24 shots as the Knicks fell to 7-12 on the road this season. Jeremy Lin had 20 points, while Amare Stoudemire and J.R. Smith both scored 18 in a losing effort.

"Parker is one of the best in the league," surmised Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni. "We didn't have our guys who could slow it a little bit."

New York center Tyson Chandler sat out with strained hamstring, leaving a hole in the middle that allowed the Spurs to own the paint, 60-38. The big man remains doubtful for tonight's contest.

The Knicks are now just 2-5 since Anthony returned from a groin injury that cost him seven games. New York won six of those seven contests, behind the dynamic play of Lin.

The Bucks have won three straight and seven of eight over New York, including a 100-86 win in Madison Square Garden back on Jan. 20.






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