NEW YORK, December 28, 2010 – Earl Boykins of the Milwaukee Bucks has been suspended one game without pay for making intentional contact with a game official, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 5.3 seconds remaining in the 3rd period of the Bucks’ 95-80 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Monday, Dec. 27.

Boykins will serve his suspension tonight when the Bucks face the Chicago Bulls at the United Center in Chicago.

Earl Boykins(notes) may be a journeyman guard, but he is more than keeping the Milwaukee Bucks afloat during the extended absence of Brandon Jennings(notes).

Boykins looks for another big effort as the Bucks seek a third consecutive win Monday night at home against the Atlanta Hawks.

Milwaukee (12-16) appeared to be in serious trouble when Jennings was ruled out for up to six weeks after undergoing foot surgery last Monday. The injury left the Bucks without their point guard and team leader with averages of 17.9 points and 5.5 assists.

A 12-year veteran who has played for nine teams, the 5-foot-5 Boykins has softened the blow of Jennings’ absence with a sudden increase in scoring and playing time. He’s helped Milwaukee in position for its third three-game winning streak of the season.

Boykins scored 19 points while playing a season-high 29:03 in an 84-79 victory at Sacramento on Thursday. That performance came two nights after he had a season-best 22 points in a stunning 98-79 upset of the two-time reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

He totaled 53 points over his first 16 games of 2010-11, while never taking more than eight shots.

“My teammates have confidence in me. They were willing to give me the ball,” Boykins said after going 9 for 17 from the field Thursday. “They were setting great screens for me and that’s how I was getting open. Coach is going to play guys who are playing well. I just happened to be playing well, but the difference was defense.”

The Bucks, allowing 92.6 points per game, rank among the NBA’s top best defensive teams. However, that success has been undermined by scoring a league-low 91.2 points per contest. Milwaukee is 1-6 when opponents top 100 points.

With Jennings out for an extended period, the Bucks are hoping Corey Maggette(notes) (concussion-like symptoms) and Drew Gooden(notes) (plantar faciitis) can return from injuries after missing three and two games, respectively.

Maggette made 7 of 8 shots for 20 points while Boykins had seven in a 108-91 win at Atlanta on Nov. 10.

The Hawks have dropped their last five road games, including an 93-86 loss to New Orleans on Sunday to open a stretch of six games out of seven away from home.

Atlanta last lost six consecutive road games March 17-April 7, which included a 98-95 defeat at Milwaukee on March 22. The Hawks won 104-96 in their last visit to the Bradley Center on April 12.

A better performance from Al Horford(notes) would help Atlanta’s cause. Horford, who leads the Hawks with averages of 16.6 points and 9.6 rebounds, struggled to finish with eight points and six boards Sunday against the Hornets.

Horford had 14 points and six rebounds versus Milwaukee last month.

The struggling Sacramento Kings hope to end a six-game slide tonight, when they resume a five-game homestand versus the Milwaukee Bucks from ARCO Arena.

(Sports Network) – The struggling Sacramento Kings hope to end a six-game slide tonight, when they resume a five-game homestand versus the Milwaukee Bucks from ARCO Arena.

The Kings have dropped three in a row in California’s capital and fell to 0-2 on the residency following Tuesday’s 117-109 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors. Golden State outscored the opposition, 15-7, in the extra period and erased an 84-70 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter.

Beno Udrih led the Kings with a career-high 34 points, while reigning Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for Sacramento, which led by as many as 16 points and is a miserable 5-21 on the season. Sacramento owns a 3-12 home record in 2010-11.

“There’s a line in this league when you think you can’t get any lower, it gets lower,” Kings head coach Paul Westphal said.

Carl Landry tied a season high with 22 points and snatched 10 rebounds off the bench in a losing cause. Kings rookie DeMarcus Cousins grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, as Sacramento pulled down a season-best 56 rebounds but committed 19 turnovers. The Kings are ranked second in the NBA with 13.4 offensive rebounds per game and will also host the Clippers and Grizzlies on the homestand.

Cousins is averaging 12.3 rpg in the last three contests, and Landry is posting 14.0 points and 6.0 boards in the previous five.

Milwaukee will wrap up a three-game road trip Thursday and has split the first two tests on the trek. It is coming off an improbable 98-79 victory over the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, as Earl Boykins scored a season-high 22 points off the bench to help the Bucks end a three- game slide and win for the fourth time in seven tries.

The Bucks were able to rebound from Monday’s 106-80 loss in Portland.

“Yesterday, I didn’t shoot well,” Boykins said after the win over LA. “My legs were stronger today and I got into a rhythm. Last night, we were embarrassed. We came out with energy tonight.”

John Salmons added 20 points and six assists, while Ersan Ilyasova registered 17 points and 11 rebounds in a winning effort. Milwaukee is only 4-10 away from the Bradley Center this season and has held eight of the last nine opponents under 100 points, going 5-4 in that stretch.

Salmons, a former King, is averaging 16.6 points, 3.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds over his previous five outings. Andrew Bogut, who had 15 points in the win over the Lakers, has notched a double-double in five of the last nine games and has team-highs in points (17.6), rebounds (11.9) and blocks (3.0) in that time.

Bucks forward Drew Gooden (foot) is doubtful for tonight and forward Corey Maggette is questionable with concussion-like symptoms.

Sacramento and Milwaukee split a home-and-home series a season ago, with each team prevailing as the guest. The Kings are 13-5 in the past 18 encounters with the Bucks, losers in six of their last nine visits to ARCO Arena.

© 2010 The Sports Network

The Portland Trail Blazers will wrap up a three-game homestand tonight versus the Milwaukee Bucks at the Rose Garden.

(Sports Network) – The Portland Trail Blazers will wrap up a three-game homestand tonight versus the Milwaukee Bucks at the Rose Garden.

Portland has won the first two tests on the residency and five straight in the Rose City, including Saturday’s 96-95 triumph over the Golden State Warriors. LaMarcus Aldridge posted his third straight double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Andre Miller recorded 17 points, eight assists and four steals for the Blazers, who are 9-3 as the host this season and won for the second straight time since a three-game slide.

Rudy Fernandez had 15 points and both Dante Cunningham and Wesley Matthews registered 13 apiece in the win.

“He’s doing a good job of attacking,” Blazers coach Nate McMillan said of Fernandez. “He needs time to get into rhythm. He likes to play team basketball, which is what you want.”

Blazers All-Star guard Brandon Roy is expected to miss tonight’s game with a knee ailment.

Milwaukee will begin a three-game road trip tonight against the Blazers, Lakers and Kings, and owns a 3-9 mark away from the Bradley Center this season.

The Bucks have lost two in a row since a three-game winning streak and suffered a 95-86 loss versus Utah on Saturday. Andrew Bogut had 19 points and nine rebounds, while John Salmons posted 18 points in a losing cause.

“They took a little bit of momentum into the half and we came out in the second half and didn’t have much,” stated Bucks head coach Scott Skiles. “We got it close and we got some stops, we just couldn’t finish it off with clean rebounds.”

Milwaukee also received some bad news on the injury front. Dynamic second-year point guard Brandon Jennings suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal of his left foot against the Jazz and underwent surgery Monday afternoon. Jennings is expected to miss four to six weeks of action and will be evaluated throughout his recovery.

Portland defeated the Bucks, 90-76, back on Nov. 2 this season at the Bradley Center and has won 10 of the previous 14 matchups in this series. Milwaukee has lost four straight and five of its last six games in the Rose City.

© 2010 The Sports Network