MILWAUKEE -- Mike Dunleavy summed it up best. The Milwaukee Bucks are "running out of time."
Following Saturday's home loss to the Indiana Pacers, the Bucks fell 2.5 games out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. With just six games left in the regular season, Milwaukee's 29-31 record has it on the brink of missing the postseason for the second consecutive year.
"We'll keep playing every game like it's our last," point guard Brandon Jennings said after falling just shy of a triple-double with 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. "The locker room is still upbeat, so we have to keep hooping. That's all we can do."
The theme has been the same for the Bucks since the trade that sent Andrew Bogut to Golden State in exchange for Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh: They can beat the lesser teams, but struggle against playoff-bound teams. The loss to the Pacers dropped Milwaukee to 1-7 against winning teams after the trade.
But for coach Scott Skiles, he doesn't believe that should all fall on Ellis and Udoh.
"I don't think it has anything to do with new guys," Skiles said. "It just has to do with learning what exactly we need to do to have success at the end of games."
Ellis, who has been starting since he first suited up with the Bucks, scored 20 points against the Pacers. Udoh had four points off the bench in 14 minutes.
"You hate to say you play like your record, but I believe that's what we're playing like," Drew Gooden said. "We're playing like what our record says. There's some teams that have below .500 records, but you say, that team is a lot better than what their record says. I think right now we're playing into our record.
"We're thinking these teams are better than us because they have more wins than us. The mindset we have to use is that every game is a winnable game. I think we do that, but at the end of games, you look at the score and it's right where we're at; that ninth seed trying to get into the playoffs losing against (playoff teams)."
With the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers both not playing Saturday, there was no other movement in that race for the seventh and eighth seeds in the East. The Bucks' second-to-last game of the season is at home against the 76ers, which could be a make-or-break moment if Milwaukee can win its next four games.
Next, the Bucks will travel to Washington on Wednesday for what should be a very winnable game, and then head to Indiana for a rematch with the Pacers. Following that, Milwaukee plays its final three home games of the regular season, all consecutively, against New Jersey, Toronto and concluding with Philadelphia.
Home games have surprisingly given Milwaukee trouble all season, with Saturday's loss putting the Bucks at 15-15 at home.
"That's been our weakness all season; losing close games at home and not taking advantage of home court," Gooden said.
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