By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
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ATLANTA -- There's a race going on for the final playoff spot in the East, and at least somebody is playing like it. But it wasn't the team here.

While Indiana's Danny Granger was hitting a tough game winner to beat the Knicks for a second straight game, the Milwaukee Bucks sleepwalked through a 110-85 defeat to the Hawks. Milwaukee, which looked to be in the catbird's seat in the three-way race for the final spot three days ago, now is in danger of losing contact with the Pacers and Bobcats.

"Tonight's game doesn't put us out of anything," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said, in a statement that neatly encapsulates how pathetic the Eastern Conference playoff race has become.

His club is 26-40, has the league's worst offense and has lost its past two games by a combined 56 points. But no, the Bucks aren't out of it.

They are teetering on the brink, though. Milwaukee now sits two and a half games behind Indiana and two behind Charlotte, with only one of the three teams able to claim the final spot. The Bucks aren't out of it because they play the Pacers again and, with a win, will own tiebreaks against both Charlotte and Indiana. And it's not like their two rivals are blowing away the field, either.

But to get back in it, they'll have to play more the way they did in three double-digit wins last week and less like they did Tuesday night. Milwaukee gave up a 20-0 run bridging the first and second quarters, and never got within 12 points the rest of the night, trailing by as many as 33.

As per usual, the Bucks struggled to score; they had only 55 through the first three quarters after netting a pathetic total of 56 in Boston on Sunday. Unusually, the Bucks' third-ranked defense also let them down. Joe Johnson scored 36 points in just three quarters of work, including a string of five 3-pointers in the second quarter that blew open the game, and Atlanta shot 63 percent for the night.

"I think we focused too much on scoring today and not enough on defense," said Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut, leaving one to shudder at how little the Bucks might have scored if they weren't focusing on scoring.

Said Skiles: "Defensively, we weren't up and into them and aggressive and weren't dictating to them; they were dictating to us."

While the defensive struggles can be partly ascribed to some unusually torrid 3-point shooting from the Hawks -- Atlanta earned only eight free throws and committed 21 turnovers but was 11-of-19 on 3s and shot 64.8 percent on 2s -- it's the consistent offensive struggles that remain the worrisome trend in Brewtown.

If the Bucks don't make the playoffs, an attack that has trouble creating decent shots will be the reason. Once again, the perimeter players struggled to beat defenders and get to the rim, leaving the Bucks shooting long, contested jump shots or relying on Bogut to flip in contested turnarounds.

"It's been one of our issues," Skiles said. "Most of the year, really. We've had trouble getting in [the paint], and when we've got in there, we've had trouble converting and making decisions. No question, tonight and against Boston, too much lateral and not enough getting in the paint and making whatever decision the game dictates."

The inability of the guards to make plays also puts a focus on second-year guard Brandon Jennings, who played well earlier in the season but has had a rocky return since missing 18 games with a broken foot. In particular, the left-hander needs to improve his weak hand to stop opponents from overplaying him.

"He's having some trouble out there," Skiles said. "Some of it revolves around just being able to beat the other team's bigs when they show on pick-and-rolls, and getting to his right and beating people with his right hand. He's still working on it."

The Bucks' flagging offense could get a lift. Sharpshooter Michael Redd worked out hard before the game and could be back in action in a week or so. While his minutes will be tightly rationed, even brief doses of his scoring could provide a boost on this team. Forward Drew Gooden also might be back soon as he recovers from a plantar fascia injury that has swallowed nearly his entire season.

However, they're running out of time. The Pacers and Bobcats left the door wide open for the Bucks to salvage an incredibly disappointing season, but the Bucks have shown no inclination to charge through it. Even now, merely finishing the season 9-7 in their final 16 games might get them into the postseason.

"We've been saying for a couple of months now," Skiles said, "that at some point we're going to have to string together some wins."

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