PICK:ORLANDO MAGIC -9 (-105)

Orlando remains in a playoff position due to the weakness of bottom nine teams in the conference, having lost eight of its last nine contests - capped by a 111-95 setback against the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday at home. “I don’t know if we’ll make a similar run but we can play better,” Magic coach Steve Clifford told reporters after the loss to the Bucks. “You want to make the playoffs and be playing in a manner where you can play well, and that to me is what these games are for. But we need to make progress, particularly offensively.” The Hawks are only 2 ½ games above the NBA-worst Golden State Warriors, but they have won five of the last 10 games after pulling out a 140-135 victory over the New York Knicks in double overtime Sunday night. Trae Young returned to the lineup for Atlanta after missing the previous game with an ankle injury and responded with 48 points and 13 assists Sunday as the Hawks rallied from eight points down in the final 90 seconds of the first overtime. Center Nikola Vucevic recorded his second double-double in three games with 21 points and 14 rebounds against Milwaukee and leads the team in scoring (18.8) and rebounds (10.9). Guard Evan Fournier is averaging 18.6 points and has been on target from 3-point range of late, draining 15-of-28 in his last four games, while wing shooter Terrence Ross scored 20 on Saturday - his most in eight games. Forward Aaron Gordon scored just seven on 2-of-12 from the field versus Milwaukee after averaging 19.8 points in the previous four games to boost his season mark to 13.7.