Larry Drew is preparing to part ways with the Hawks and will interview for the head coach position with the Bucks Monday.

Drew told the Atlanta Journal Constitution Friday that in a meeting with general manager Danny Ferry earlier this week the two came to an amicable agreement to allow the coach to interview for other vacant positions in the league. The Bucks called Ferry about speaking with Drew, who is still under contract until June 30, and they were granted permission.

“I’ve moved on from the situation,” Drew told the AJC. “We had a very professional talk just trying to get things in order since I’m still under contract.”

– Reported by Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Steve Clifford is interviewing with the Milwaukee Bucks for their head-coaching job on Monday, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Milwaukee has interviewed Nate McMillan and Houston Rockets assistants Kelvin Sampson and J.B. Bickerstaff for its head-coaching job.

When Bucks general manager John Hammond reached out to gauge Stan Van Gundy’s interest in the job, Van Gundy declined but delivered a strong recommendation for Clifford, league sources said. Clifford spent five years on Van Gundy’s Orlando Magic staff before joining the Lakers in the summer of 2012.

– Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports

The Milwaukee Bucks will begin a search immediately for a new head coach after informing Jim Boylan that he will not be offered a new contract, General Manager John Hammond announced.  The decision was made after Hammond met with Boylan Wednesday morning at the Bucks Training Center in St. Francis, Wis.

“At this time we feel it’s in the best interest of the organization to seek a new coach to lead our team,” said Hammond. “We appreciate Jim’s efforts not only in his time as head coach, but in his entire tenure as a coach in Milwaukee. On behalf of the Bucks organization, I thank Jim for his five years here and his many contributions on and off the court. We wish Jim and his wife, Jane, the best.”

Boylan compiled a 22-28 record (.440) after replacing Scott Skiles as head coach on Jan. 8.  The Bucks were swept by Miami in the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs, 4-0.

Boylan, 58, had been the lead assistant coach for the Bucks the past four seasons, joining the team after finishing the final 56 games (24-32, .429) of the 2007-08 season as the interim head coach of the Chicago Bulls. His NBA coaching career began in 1992 with Cleveland, and he has also served as an assistant with Vancouver (1997-2000), Phoenix (2000-02), Atlanta (2003-04) and Chicago (2004-08).

The starting point guard of the Marquette Warriors 1977 NCAA Championship team, Boylan led the team in assists during his junior and senior seasons before being selected by the Buffalo Braves in the 1978 NBA Draft. Boylan’s coaching career began as a player/coach in Switzerland (1982-86) where he led the Vevey Basketball club to the first championship in its 30-year history. He also coached in the CBA (Rochester Renegade), with Michigan State (1986-89) and served as the head coach at the University of New Hampshire (1989-92).

According to ESPN.com, “Houston Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson, who is already a candidate for the Charlotte Bobcats’ opening, will be among the candidates considered to replace Boylan, a source told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein. Boylan took over as interim coach in January after Scott Skiles was fired and went 22-28 for the rest of the season. Milwaukee was swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Miami Heat.”

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Mike Dunleavy has served as a valuable sixth man for the Bucks during the past two seasons.

And the 32-year-old guard-forward said Monday he would be open to returning.

Dunleavy scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds in Milwaukee’s 88-77 loss to Miami in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference playoffs Sunday as the Heat completed a four-game sweep.

“My contract’s up so I’m just going to have to figure out where that leaves me,” Dunleavy said. “Honestly I haven’t given a lot of thought to it.

“I like being here; I grew up here. I signed as a free agent here. I’m willing to come back. I’ve got to talk to the team and see what they want to do and go from there.”

Dunleavy signed a two-year, $7 million deal with Milwaukee in the summer of 2011. He averaged 12.3 points and provided a spark off the bench in 55 games during the lockout-shortened season, then averaged 10.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 75 games during the past season.

– Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

LeBron James can cross another item off his to-do list.

James scored 30 points, Ray Allen had another big game against his old team and the Miami Heat got their first playoff sweep in the Big Three era, advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals with an 88-77 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

”It was our next big step as far as our growth,” James said. ”It’s so hard to win on the road in the playoffs, in someone’s building - especially when someone is playing for their last life. It’s a big step for us.”

And now the Heat have some much-needed time to rest. Dwyane Wade sat out Sunday’s game, only the second postseason game he’s missed in his career, because of his aching right knee. But with Miami not playing until next Saturday, at the earliest, he’ll have plenty of time to treat the three bone bruises that caused him to miss six games near the end of the regular season.

Miami plays the winner of the Brooklyn-Chicago series. The Bulls lead that series 3-1, with Game 5 on Monday night in New York…

Monta Ellis led the Bucks with 21 points, and Larry Sanders had 11 rebounds to go with seven points.

But Milwaukee got almost nothing again from Brandon Jennings, who didn’t even play in the fourth quarter. Jennings, who had guaranteed the Bucks would win the series in six games, finished with three points on 1-of-7 shooting.

After scoring 26 points in Game 1, Jennings had 27 total in the final three.

– Reported by Nancy Armour of the Associated Press

Everyone in the Miami huddle was bracing for a grind to the finish. On the other end, the sense around the Milwaukee bench was that an upset was there for the taking.

Then the Heat landed a swift knockout punch.

Dwyane Wade scored 21 points, LeBron James finished with 19 and the Heat used a frantic start to the fourth quarter to pull away and beat the Bucks 98-86 in Game 2 of the teams’ Eastern Conference first-round series on Tuesday night.

It was 68-65 entering the fourth. With James and four backups on the court, the Heat needed only 2 minutes, 22 seconds to outscore Milwaukee 12-0 and stretch the lead to 80-65 - ensuring the reigning NBA champions would take a 2-0 series lead into Game 3 on Thursday night.

”We held court,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”We protected it for two games. We did what we’re supposed to do. And that’s it.”

Chris Bosh, Shane Battier and Chris Andersen all scored 10 points for the Heat. James’ postseason streaks of 22 straight games with at least 20 points, and 16 straight games of at least 25 points, both came to an end.

Ultimately, none of that mattered.

”We didn’t get into our game like we wanted to in that third quarter,” James said. ”But we went into the fourth with a (three-point) lead and we were able to jump on them.”

Ersan Ilyasova scored 21 points for Milwaukee, which got 16 from Mike Dunleavy and 14 from Larry Sanders. The Bucks’ starting guards, Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, combined for only 15 points - after teaming up to score 48 in Game 1.

– Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

The third-year pro was in foul trouble throughout the game and never found a rhythm in the Bucks’ 110-87 loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday night in Game 1 of the teams’ Eastern Conference playoff series.

“I kept having to press the reset button to get myself loose,” Sanders said of his foul woes.

Sanders finished with six points, five rebounds and five fouls while being limited to 19 minutes. He drew his fourth foul with 9 minutes 31 seconds left in the third quarter and had to go to the bench.

After returning to the court, he missed two short-range shots in the fourth quarter and picked up a fifth foul on a drive by Dwyane Wade.

At that point Sanders exited and gave one thumb up to referee Sean Corbin.

“Just tell him to stay confident,” Bucks guard Brandon Jennings said of his advice for his teammate. “I mean, we’ve got one Tuesday (Game 2) and it’s going to be another hostile environment.

– Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Brandon Jennings smiled when asked about his Thursday night prediction of the Bucks over the Miami Heat in six.

Hey, somebody had to stick up for the Bucks, right?

“We were joking around,” Jennings said after the Bucks practice session Friday at the Cousins Center. “I was joking around with Aaron Rodgers before I even said it.

“Of course it’s always going to be taken to the next level. But at the end of the day, we’re getting bashed on ESPN. We’re getting bashed on TNT, anyway. Now that I say we’ll win in six, now it’s a problem.”

– Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Blog)

The Milwaukee Bucks had been sputtering lately, but that was all forgotten after they clinched a playoff berth by crushing Toronto, 100-83, Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Milwaukee (37-39) won for just the third time in its last 10 games to move within two games of idle Boston, which holds the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

“You work hard all season,” Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. “It’s a long season. We’ve had ups and downs. It’s 82 games. We’ve still got a few games left. We kind of hit a rough patch here toward the end, but we’ve had some good patches, too, at certain times during the season, which enabled us to be in this position.

“It’s pretty nice to clinch when you have six games left so you can start getting yourself ready for whoever it is you’re going to play against. The guys have worked very hard, and it’s very satisfying for us.”

– Reported by Dave Boehler, special to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Monta Ellis had 22 points and nine assists, and the Milwaukee Bucks secured their first playoff berth in three seasons with a 100-83 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.

Brandon Jennings had 16 points and seven assists, while Larry Sanders added 12 points, nine rebounds and six blocks for Milwaukee, which needed a win and a Miami victory over Philadelphia on Saturday to clinch at least the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat beat the 76ers, 106-87.

The win was Milwaukee’s 10th straight over Toronto, its longest active winning streak over any opponent. And it pulled the Bucks within two games of the idle Boston Celtics for the No. 7 seed.

Alan Anderson led Toronto with 14 points off the bench, and Quincy Acy had 13. Rudy Gay, Toronto’s leading scorer with 18.2 points per game, made 1-of-10 shots and matched his season low with four points.

Toronto shot just 36 percent (30 of 83) and had 18 turnovers.

The game wasn’t close after the first quarter, as the Bucks used a 15-4 run late in the period to go up 24. They led 61-42 at halftime behind 14 points and seven assists from Ellis.

– Reported by Erik Brooks of the Associated Press

Larry Sanders’ latest career night led to a big scoring night for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Sanders had a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds as Milwaukee cruised to a 131-102 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night for the Bucks’ highest total in more than four years.

”It’s working out pretty well,” said Sanders, who had set his previous career scoring high of 21 on Thursday in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. ”I am just trying to stay active. My teammates are doing a great job of finding me down there, trusting me to finish plays, and I’m shooting the ball when I’m open.”

Monta Ellis had 19 points, a career-high 14 assists and six steals to help Milwaukee pull 1 1/2 games behind seventh-place Boston in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Celtics lost to Minnesota on Monday.

Ersan Ilyasova added 22 points for the Bucks, and J.J. Redick scored 20, 16 in the second half. Brandon Jennings had 19, as Milwaukee, which had lost five of six, remained solidly in the eighth position in the East, with a six-game lead over idle Philadelphia.

Kemba Walker scored 27 points to lead the Bobcats, and Gerald Henderson had 17.

Charlotte came in allowing 47.3 percent shooting and 103.1 points per game - second-worst in the league in both categories - and it showed.

– Reported by Erik Brooks of the Associated Press

Larry Sanders of the Milwaukee Bucks has been fined $50,000 for using a derogatory and offensive term and publicly criticizing the officials, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

With 2:44 in the fourth quarter of the Bucks 107-94 home loss to the Miami Heat on Friday Sanders directed a derogatory and offensive term to the officials and was subsequently ejected. Following the game he publicly criticized the officials.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Sanders argued after being called for fouling Heat star LeBron James on a drive to the basket. Sanders was ejected from back-to-back games last week against Washington and Miami. He has been ejected four times this season. There were no incidents with Sanders as the Bucks beat the Orlando Magic, 115-109, on Sunday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.”

LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 28 points, and the Miami Heat made it 21 straight wins, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 107-94 on Friday night.

Only three other teams have won 20 in a row in one season, and the Heat now trail just the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33) and the 2007-08 Houston Rockets (22) after moving ahead of the 1970-71 Bucks.

They withstood an early scare when Dwyane Wade walked to the locker room with a neck strain after crashing to the court. Miami led by as much as 17 in the third quarter, then withstood a push by the Bucks to remain unbeaten since a loss at Indiana on Feb. 1.

Miami next plays Sunday at Toronto, where the winning streak began on Feb. 3.

Bosh hit from all angles and was 12 of 16 in the game, nailing two 3-pointers. He even converted a four-point play that made it 67-53 about five minutes into the third quarter.

James was his usual dominant self, and Wade finished with 20 points as the Heat avenged a loss at Milwaukee in late December.

Ersan Ilyasova led Milwaukee with 26 points and a season-high 17 rebounds. Brandon Jennings scored 21 but was 6 of 15 from the field, and the Bucks shot just over 37 percent. Monta Ellis struggled, finishing with seven points after scoring 26 in the previous game at Washington, and the Bucks dropped their third straight.

– Reported by Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press

Vince Carter may not be able to throw down big dunks like he used to, though he can still knock down big shots.

Carter hit three key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 23 points off the bench as the Dallas Mavericks won their fourth straight with a 115-108 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.

”I felt in the groove,” Carter said. ”The basket just seemed extremely big, and I felt comfortable with my shot. I was just in the flow of the game. A couple of shots, once I let them go, I happened to look down and see the 3-point line was up there. Oops. I know if I don’t make them, Coach is going to yell. But I was just prepared. I had my feet set, in rhythm, just in attack mode.” …

The Mavericks, who are three games out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race, know now is the time to get going if they are to make the postseason for the 13th consecutive time…

Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points, 17 in the first half, and 11 rebounds, while O.J. Mayo had 14 points. Mavericks rookie and former Marquette star Jae Crowder, last year’s Big East player of the year, was one off his career high with 14 points.

Monta Ellis scored 32 points for the Bucks, giving him 20 or more in all six of Milwaukee’s games this month. Ellis has been putting up big numbers since the All-Star break, averaging 23.7 points.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Bucks guard Brandon Jennings made a rather startling observation after practice Friday.

While he wants the Bucks to move up in the playoff seedings if possible, he said it’s OK with him to face the top-seeded Miami Heat in the first round. That’s the Heat, as in the streaking team that has won 16 straight games entering a home game against Philadelphia on Friday.

“The two games that we played Miami so far, we matched up well against them,” Jennings said. “If you ask me, that’s who I would want to play first round, Miami.

“Just the fact over the years, a lot of the games have gone down to the wire with us and Miami. Right now we haven’t really played well against the Knicks. I just feel better if we play Miami first round, just the fact we have good games against them.

“I don’t know if it’s because they’re the champs or what, but we always play harder against Miami.”

– Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

J.J. Redick has played five games with the Bucks and the team has won four, after losing by one point in his debut against Atlanta.

Not a bad start.

And Redick has made a big difference coming off the bench, averaging 15.4 points and providing another backcourt weapon to go along with Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings. Redick scored eight of the Bucks’ 10 points in overtime in their 109-108 victory over Utah on Monday night.

But Redick knows plenty of challenges await his new team, beginning Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center. The Bucks had a team meeting at the hotel Wednesday morning as they prepared for the opener of their three-game California trip.

– Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

After scoring just nine points in regulation, J.J. Redick nearly matched that total in overtime Monday night.

Redick, acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks at last month’s trade deadline, scored his new team’s first eight points in the extra period. He finished with 17 as the Bucks beat the Utah Jazz 109-108.

”I was just taking what was there. I didn’t feel like I was struggling at all (in regulation),” Redick said. ”I got good looks and the ball was in and out a lot of times. I never feel like I’m struggling. I always feel like the next shot is going in.”

Milwaukee coach Jim Boylan said he has extreme confidence in Redick’s ability to make shots.

”The guy is a great shooter. I know he missed a couple but the thing with J.J., when he shoots the ball, you expect it to go in,” Boylan said. ”Whenever I see him raising up for a shot, I feel pretty good.”

Monta Ellis scored 34 points to lead Milwaukee, which won its fourth consecutive game after dropping three in a row following the All-Star break…

Brandon Jennings had 20 points and 17 assists for Milwaukee, while Larry Sanders chipped in with eight points, 16 rebounds and six blocked shots…

Derrick Favors tied a career high with 23 points and added 15 rebounds for Utah, which lost for the fourth time in five games. Paul Millsap had 22 points and 14 rebounds, Alec Burks added 19 points and Enes Kanter had 18 points.

– Reported by Rich Rovito of the Associated Press

Milwaukee Bucks guard Monta Ellis and Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Feb. 25 through Sunday, March 3.

Ellis led the Bucks to a 3-0 week with averages of 24.0 points (sixth in the conference), 9.0 assists (fourth in the conference) and a league-leading 5.0 steals. Ellis collected back-to-back six-steal games in road victories over the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 26, and the Houston Rockets on Feb. 27. In the win over the Rockets, Ellis, who led all scorers with 27 points, hit an off-balance three-pointer just before the final buzzer to secure the win.

Lawson led the Nuggets to a 3-0 week behind averages of 21.0 points, 7.0 assists and 1.7 steals. Lawson hit a game winner of his own on March 1 with 0.2 seconds remaining to give the Nuggets a 105-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. He also tallied a 30-point effort on Feb. 27, during a win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Al Horford, Chicago’s Joakim Noah, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Houston’s Chandler Parsons, Indiana’s David West, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, Memphis’ Marc Gasol, Miami’s LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and Portland’s Damian Lillard.

Monta Ellis made sure the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t lose another close game.

Dirk Nowitzki couldn’t do the same, even with a stat line the Dallas Mavericks had not seen from their star in nearly 10 years.

Ellis scored 22 points, and the Bucks spoiled Nowitzki’s first game since April 2003 with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a 95-90 victory over the Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Playing point guard with struggling backcourt mate Brandon Jennings on the bench, Ellis twice put the Bucks ahead in the final 2 minutes, the last time on a jumper for a 92-90 lead with 1:03 remaining. Milwaukee snapped a three-game losing streak - all by three points or fewer, just the third time that’s happened in franchise history.

”We can put that behind us now and build off of that,” said Ellis, who also had game highs with nine assists and six steals.

Nowitzki had 21 points and 20 rebounds for the Mavericks, who had two chances to tie after Ellis’ go-ahead basket. Vince Carter missed a 3-pointer, and after Nowitzki’s 20th rebound at the other end, Darren Collison’s wild shot on a drive wasn’t close…

J.J. Redick, playing his second game in Dallas in six days but in a different uniform after he was traded from Orlando to Milwaukee, had nine points at halftime, tied with Mike Dunleavy for the team lead, and finished with 14. Dunleavy had 13…

Larry Sanders had 11 of his 13 points in the second half and led Milwaukee with 13 rebounds…

O.J. Mayo, Dallas’ leading scorer, bounced back with 18 points after scoring just eight on 2-of-9 shooting while Kobe Bryant dominated with 38 in the Lakers’ win Sunday. Elton Brand had 12 points and 14 rebounds.

– Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press

The Milwaukee Bucks have suspended center Samuel Dalembert for one game without pay due to a violation of team policy, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Dalembert will serve his suspension tonight when the Bucks play at Dallas.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dalembert was late to Tuesday shootaround in Dallas.