Bucks trounce the Nets 91-81 for their third straight victory
The Milwaukee Bucks trounced the visiting New Jersey Nets 91-81 on Saturday night at the Bradley Center for their third consecutive victory.
Carlos Delfino had another great performance as he scored 21 points - including four three-pointers - in the home victory. It was Delfino's tenth three-pointer in the last three games - all of which Milwaukee have won.
Bucks coach Scott Skiles praised his team’s performance despite their sluggish start. He said, "Early in the game it looked like a typical back-to-back. We didn't come out as sharp as we would have liked, but we battled through it. We picked up our defence,
the ball movement was good and we were able to get some shots to go down. Overall, everyone contributed and we were able to pull out a good win."
Andrew Bogut did a good job of staying active with 17 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks for Milwaukee, who won their 19th game of the season. Corey Maggette, Ersan Ilyasova, and Keyon Dooling each had 14 points for Milwaukee, who were missing the injured
John Salmons.
Brook Lopez played scored a game-high 26 points, two assists, and six rebounds for the Nets, who have lost three of their last five contests. Anthony Morrow registered 16 points in a reserve role, while point guard Devin Harris ended with 10 points and a
game-high 16 rebounds for New Jersey, who have dropped two straight games.
Match Analysis
Both teams played sloppy basketball in the opening quarter but New Jersey managed to make it to the free throw line as they took a 25-22 lead going into the second. Milwaukee responded strongly in the second quarter and came out attacking. That strategy
paid off as they took a 45-37 lead into the locker room.
While talking about the second quarter play, New Jersey coach Avery Johnson said, "We just got stuck offensively. The ball stopped moving. We could not get the ball up the court in time. We were just out of sync."
Milwaukee and New Jersey started the third quarter ice cold. However, Lopez's basket with one minute to go, trimmed the Net’s deficit to 68-61 after three quarters. The Nets extended their offensive play to the fourth but the Bucks sealed the home victory
with a sizzling 15-4 run.
Bogut appreciated Delfino's return as he said, "It's huge for us. He can create off the dribble for us, we can put in pick and rolls, he has a high basketball IQ and he rebounds for us as well. We missed him as much as anybody."
Milwaukee leading scorer Brandon Jennings joined the squad after missing 19 games because of a broken left foot. He played for 12 minutes, during which he managed two points and one assist, and then left for good with ten and a half minutes to go in the
game.
The Bucks played the game without forward Drew Gooden, who missed his fifth consecutive game of the 2010-11 season, and 20th overall with an injury to his left foot. Meanwhile, New Jersey guard Jordan Farmar missed his second straight game with back spasms.
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