(My Sportsbook) - A strong February has enabled the Milwaukee Bucks to creep back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture, while the New Orleans Hornets' shaky play during the month has put their postseason hopes in jeopardy.

The Bucks will attempt to extend their current winning streak to four games when they host a Hornets squad that's dominated this series as of late tonight at the Bradley Center.

Milwaukee improved to 7-3 in February with Monday's 83-67 road triumph over the New York Knicks, the third straight opponent the Bucks have held to 88 points or less. The surge has moved the club into a tie with Charlotte for the eighth and final playoff seed in the East and just one-half game behind seventh-place Miami.

The Bucks limited New York to 33.8 shooting for the game and a total of 26 points in the second half. The 67 points was the Knicks' lowest scoring output of the season.

Andrew Bogut led Milwaukee on both ends of the court, as the seven-foot center racked up 24 points and 20 rebounds in addition to blocking five shots.

"[Monday] was a great game...not just individually for me, but our defensive effort was great," said Bogut afterward.

John Salmons, acquired from Chicago during last week's trade deadline, chipped in 15 points for Milwaukee, which also received an 11-point, 11-rebound performance out of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.

New Orleans lost five of seven games to start out February before stringing together back-to-back victories over Indiana and Houston on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Hornets couldn't keep the momentum going in last night's matchup with the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, however, dropping a 105-95 decision to LeBron James and his mates at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Hornets trailed 82-76 entering the fourth quarter, before five straight points from Marcus Thornton cut the deficit to one with just over two minutes elapsed in the period. Thornton later gave New Orleans an 87-85 edge on a layup with seven minutes to go, but Cleveland responded with a 10-2 run and held their opponent off the rest of the way.

Thornton finished with a career-best 37 points on 15-of-22 shooting and established a franchise record by netting 23 points in the second quarter. Fellow rookie Darren Collison contributed 22 points and 10 assists while continuing to fill in for injured All-Star Chris Paul at point guard.

"Darren's carrying a heavy load and continues to run the team well and getting people in position offensively," said Hornets head coach Jeff Bower. "Marcus Thornton was able to come off the bench, make an awful lot of shots and put a lot of pressure on the defense."

New Orleans will try to bounce back tonight against a Milwaukee team it has defeated eight consecutive times and posted a 102-99 overtime verdict over in the Big Easy back on November 25. The Hornets have also prevailed in each of their last three visits to the Bradley Center.

The Bucks' last win in this series occurred in Milwaukee on December 23, 2005.