Mar 21, 2018 MILWAUKEE -- Time is running out for the Los Angeles Clippers to creep back into the Western Conference playoff picture.A 123-109 loss Tuesday night at Minnesota extended the Clippers' losing streak to four games and left them three games behind the Timberwolves for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with nine games to play.They'll have little time to regroup though as they're back in action Wednesday night, facing the Bucks in Milwaukee."At this point, we've just got to win games," Clippers guard Austin Rivers said. "I don't care if we have to play five games in five nights, we've just got to win games. Everybody's tired right now. Everybody's bruised. Everybody's trying to play catch-up.The visit to Milwaukee is the second stop on a four-game trip and comes as part of a stretch that has the Clippers on the road for nine of 11 games.They won't be back home until next Tuesday -- facing the Bucks again -- and head back out for another pair of road games after that."We realize we don't have a lot of room for error," guard Lou Williams said. "There's a lot of teams that don't have a lot of room for error. Dire is one word, but at the end of the day, we can only go out and play as hard as we can." Milwaukee is still comfortably in the Eastern Conference race but the Bucks' slim chances of sliding back into contention for home-court advantage in the first round have all but disappeared over the last few weeks.They've lost eight of their last 12 games to fall to eighth in the East, six games ahead of ninth-place Detroit but still 3 1/2 back of Indiana, which sits fourth.Not surprisingly, their struggles have coincided with injuries to point guards Malcolm Brogdon (torn left quadriceps) and Matthew Dellavedova (right ankle sprain). Both have been out since early February but accompanied the team on their trip to Cleveland Monday and are on track to return in the next few weeks."It's a good spot for them to be with us, kind of get re-acclimated with the team," Bucks coach Joe Prunty said. "They're still working hard to get themselves fully healthy, 100 percent, and we need them." Their injuries were a big factor in Milwaukee's decision to bring Brandon Jennings up from Oshkosh of the D-League earlier this month. He signed a second 10-day contract Tuesday after averaging 6.0 points, 5.5 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 15.8 minutes over the span of four games."It's meant a lot, it's been great," Jennings told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I had a great game coming back. I was just trying to push the pace and do what the team asks. Overall it's been a great opportunity and I'm happy with it." Milwaukee has gone 5-1 against Pacific Division teams this season but has yet to face the Clippers, who dropped both meetings with the Bucks last season.
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