Apr 19, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Lou Amundson (17) tries to steal the ball away from Milwaukee Bucks forward Larry Sanders (8) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

For all intents and purposes, the Bucks playoff chase came to an end, and the Bucks went out swinging. Literally.

The bad blood between Mike Dunleavy and Tyler Hansbrough resurfaced as a physical game got out of hand in the fourth quarter.  Matters got worse when Larry Sanders picked up two techs and foul personal fouls in a 53-second span, then overreacted to an exchange with Pacer players, including David West.  Sanders adamantly tried to free himself from peacemakers and appeared to be swinging at West.  His season is likely over.

As for Dunleavy, Mike swooped in for a fast break layup, only to take a hard body foul — which was eventually determined to be a flagrant 1 — from Leandro Barbosa.  Oddly, Barbosa may be the first player in NBA history to commit a flagrant foul that ended up preventing a more flagrant foul, as Tyler Hansbrough was chugging in from behind to get his shot at Dunleavy.  Luckily, Barbosa got in the way, but it still didn’t end well, as Hansbrough managed to use his fall to curl up into a ball and roll into the back of Dunleavy’s legs.

As for the actual basketball, the Bucks kept it exactly to script.  Despite the shortened season, the Bucks have given us a large enough sample to know exactly how these types of games will play out.  They fall behind early, make a run to even it with the bench, and then spend most of the second half trying to ignite a run that will trip a 14-point lead.  Bad shots, gambling defense — all the usual culprits were present.  Drew Gooden, Monta Ellis, and Brandon Jennings combined to shoot 19-for-52 from the field.

The Bucks are now a combined 0-13 against Boston, Chicago, Indiana, and Orlando, a.k.a., the legit Eastern Conference contenders not named the Heat.

They are 3.0 games behind the Philly with four games to play, but I’m fairly confident that the 0-13 mark gives a fair approximation of what could reasonably be expected of a Bucks playoff run.

Tweets of the Night:

@8pts9secs:  Try http://Bucks.com. RT @noamschiller: I wonder if any site keeps track of FG% on off balance jumpers.

@8pts9secs: Looks like it’s about time for Drew Gooden to get traded again. Which teams does he have left on his punch card to get a free sandwich?

@DimeAlert: There has now been a flagrant foul in all three Pacers/Bucks game this season.

@netw3rk:  Larry Sanders with a fantastic YOU-BETTER-HOLD-ME-BACK.

@DrMustache: Somebody forgot to tell Larry Sanders what happened to the Cleveland mascot.

Now, I’m sad.

March 5, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Larry Sanders (8) blocks a shot from Philadelphia 76ers guard Louis Williams (23) during the first half at the Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-US PRESSWIRE

The Milwaukee Bucks will make the playoffs if they win their remaining six games.

In their final regular-season home game of the season, the Philadelphia 76ers took one more step toward falling out of the playoff race.  By losing to the Pacers, 102-97, the 76ers fell within 1.5 games of Milwaukee (and 1 game in the loss column).  Since Milwaukee and Philadelphia have one head-to-head game remaining, the Bucks can theoretically force no worse than a tie (and win the tiebreaker) by winning six in a row.

But if the Bucks could routinely pull off that feat, they wouldn’t be in this predicament.  Among their stiffest challenges will be a game of their own against Indiana Thursday.  Here is a look at the remaining schedule of each team:

Milwaukee: