Pacers maintain position in standings, beat Milwaukee Bucks - Sportsrageous

At this time of the year, playoff seeding is what every team that has a shot at the playoffs is concerned about, and on Saturday night the Pacers dealt the Bucks a serious blow to their hopes as they solidified their own with a 105-99 win in Milwaukee.

Poor free-throw shooting was a serious blow to the Bucks in this game, as they shot only 61.5 percent from the line (16-26). The loss places them 2.5 games behind the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks for the seventh and eighth seed in the Eastern Conference standings, while the Pacers keep their three game lead over the Knicks for the number three seed.

“We obviously missed some (free throws),” forward Mike Dunleavy said after the game. “I missed three, which is unusual for me.”

Dunleavy finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds for the Bucks, one of five Bucks players to reach double figures in the game. They were led by point guard Brandon Jennings’ near triple-double with 16 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds.

“It’s tough,” Bucks center Drew Gooden said. “You want to protect your home court always. That’s been something that’s been our weakness all season is losing close games at home and not taking advantage of the home-court advantage.”

The Pacers had an astounding seven players in double figures, including every member of the starting five, led by Roy Hibbert’s 23 points and 14 rebounds.

“We made positive plays,” Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. “We knocked down our free throws. We hurt them on the glass. We outrebounded them by 11. In crunch time we were able to get some stops.”

The Pacers look to continue their impressive play on Monday when they play the struggling Philadelphia 76ers on the road, while the Bucks look to keep their playoff hopes alive when they play Wednesday on the road versus the Washington Wizards.