reflections
Bucks, Jennings roar past Wizards

Milwaukee needs to start a playoff run

WASHINGTON (AP) — Back-to-back games against the Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers could be just what the Milwaukee Bucks need to remain in the playoff race.

Brandon Jennings scored 23 points and Andrew Bogut had 14 points, nine rebounds and a season-high seven assists in his first game back after an injury to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Washington Wizards 95-76 on Tuesday night.

Coupled with Indiana’s 110-100 loss at Philadelphia on Tuesday, the Bucks trail the Pacers by 2 1/2 games for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.


On Wednesday, the Bucks travel to Cleveland, where the Cavaliers are 8-24 this season.

John Salmons had 22 points for the Bucks, who ended a two-game losing streak. Jennings scored 10 points in the third quarter and the Bucks led 75-52 after three.

“We kind of were on cruise control a little bit,” said Jennings, who sat the entire fourth quarter alongside backcourt mate Salmons. “Our bench played great. Also John played great, and Bogut, with his first game back. … We’ve got to go on and get Cleveland tomorrow and Philly with the next game.”

Rookie Jordan Crawford had a career-high 22 points for the Wizards, who have lost nine of their last 10.

Bogut returned to the Bucks’ starting lineup after missing three games with a muscle strain in his left ribcage area. He played 33 minutes and scored six straight points for Milwaukee midway through the second quarter.

“I felt good,” Bogut said. “My wind was good, conditioning was good. We moved the ball, we shared the ball, we hit some fast-break easy baskets, and we defended. … We don’t want to get stuck in that game of checking the standings every day. We just need to go out and play and win the games we’re supposed to.”

The Bucks closed the second quarter with a 21-6 run for a 51-36 halftime lead, capped by Jennings’ 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“We came out the second half with energy again and got a big lead,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. “We moved the ball well again tonight — maybe even a couple times in the first half to a fault. We played unselfish tonight and as a result got a good win. We’re trying to move up, so we’re happy about that.

“If you’re trying to catch people, you’ve got to keep the pressure on them.”

Wizards forward Andray Blatche left the game with a sprained right shoulder with 8:46 remaining in the first quarter.

Blatche was battling Luc Mbah a Moute and Jennings to maintain possession of the ball when he fell hard on his right shoulder. Blatche walked to the locker room clutching his shoulder and did not return. He will undergo an MRI on Wednesday, Wizards coach Flip Saunders said.

“We already got all our small forwards out,” said Nick Young, who had 10 points and five turnovers for the Wizards. “Dray goes down — crazy.”

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That’s all the news for today.

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Guards pace Milwaukee Bucks past Cleveland Cavaliers

MILWAUKEE — Guards Brandon Jennings and Earl Boykins each scored 18 points Wednesday to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 110-90 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Boykins had all of his points in the first half, then Jennings scored 14 in the third quarter as Milwaukee enjoyed its second blowout in two days, thanks to 55.1 percent shooting.

The Bucks, who won 95-76 on Tuesday at Washington, have won back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 28-29.

Samardo Samuels scored 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter for Cleveland, which lost for the fifth time in six games. The Cavaliers, 4-28 on the road, also 13 points from Daniel Gibson.

Baron Davis, Cleveland’s leading scorer since being traded to the Cavaliers, missed the game because of the death of his grandmother.

After shooting 60.5 percent in the first half for a 62-49 lead, Milwaukee extended its lead by starting the third quarter with a 14-4 run.

Jennings contributed 10 points during the stretch, and his second 3-pointer of the run gave his team its largest lead, 76-53, with 6:22 left.

Milwaukee took control by shooting 70 percent and scoring 39 points in the second quarter. Boykins made all six of his shots in the period, and he started and capped a 17-2 run by the Bucks.

His jump shot gave Milwaukee a 38-35 lead with 6:54 remaining and his layup extended the advantage to 53-37 with 3:26 to play.

A 3-pointer by John Salmons gave Milwaukee a 58-41 lead, its biggest of the half, with 2:11 left.

Notes: Cleveland won the opening tip, but Anthony Parker was called for an 8-second violation after slight pressure from Salmons. … The Bucks’ 39 second-quarter points and 62 first-half points were both two points shy of equaling season highs. … Milwaukee’s Corey Maggette missed his second consecutive game with a sore right knee and Ersan Ilyasova has not played in the past six games due to a concussion. … Cleveland’s Luke Harangody missed his second consecutive game with a right hip pointer. … This was the Cavaliers’ first visit to Milwaukee this season and their second road game since Feb. 7. The Bucks are 16-16 at home.

There is the quick update of the day.

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Milwaukee Bucks shooters get hot in win over Cleveland Cavaliers

MILWAUKEE — Two guards teamed up to give Milwaukee its second win in two days.

Brandon Jennings and Earl Boykins each scored 18 points to lead the Bucks to a 110-90 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

“At this point, we’re running out of time,” Boykins said. “It’s time to win, no matter who the opponent is. If you can get a win, it’s a good win. So, we’re able to get the back-to-back wins. It’s huge for us at this point of the season.”

Boykins had all of his points in the first half, then Jennings scored 14 in the third quarter as Milwaukee enjoyed its second blowout in two days, due to 55.1 percent shooting.

The Bucks, who won 95-76 on Tuesday at Washington, have won back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 28-29. Boykins and Jennings combined to shoot 15-of-19 from the field.

“They were in the paint,” Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said. “One of our points of emphasis in the game was to break them down off the dribble, get down in the paint and then make good decisions and save for four or five minutes, we did.”

Samardo Samuels scored 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter for Cleveland, which lost for the fifth time in six games. The Cavaliers, 4-28 on the road, also got 13 points and seven assists from Daniel Gibson.

After shooting 60.5 percent in the first half for a 62-49 lead at the break, Milwaukee extended its lead by opening the third quarter with a 14-4 run.

Jennings contributed 10 points during the stretch, and his second three-pointer of the run gave his team a 76-53 lead with 6:22 left.

“These are teams we should beat, so you can’t really get too hyped about it or anything like that,” Jennings said.

Milwaukee took control by shooting 70 percent (14-of-20) and scoring 39 points in the second quarter. Boykins made all six of his shots in the period, and he started and capped a 17-2 run by the Bucks.

His jump shot gave Milwaukee a 38-35 lead with 6:54 remaining and his layup extended the lead to 53-37 with 3:26 to play.

“I just took the shots that were there,” Boykins said. “The thing was, once I made a couple, I really just focused on taking good shots.”

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A three-pointer by John Salmons gave Milwaukee a 58-41 lead, its biggest of the half, with 2:11 left.

“We stopped playing,” Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. “We stopped playing on the defensive end, stopped playing offensively together as a team and they got up and started pressuring us a little more. And we just seemed to lose our minds and just play individual basketball.”

Baron Davis, Cleveland’s leading scorer since being traded to the Cavaliers, missed the game due to the death of his grandmother.

Afterward, the Cavaliers met for about 15-20 minutes before opening the locker room to reporters.

“Pretty much all the coaches talked and I had a couple of players talk, and that was the biggest thing, consistency and trust,” Scott said. “I don’t think the guys truly trust each other out there, for whatever reason. They’ve been together 60-plus games and obviously the consistency is something we’ve been lacking for a while.”

Samuels, who also grabbed five rebounds, agreed.

“We went over things, stuff we need to work on,” Samuels said. “Stuff that will help this team and try to get everybody on the same page. That was what the conversation was about.”

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

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NBA: Milwaukee 110, Cleveland 90

Published: March. 9, 2011 at 11:18 PM

MILWAUKEE, March 9 (UPI) — Brandon Jennings and Earl Boykins teamed to make 15-of-19 shots from the field Wednesday and lead the Milwaukee Bucks past Cleveland 110-90.

The Bucks have won back-to-back games for the first time since the last week of January.

Jennings and Boykins both scored 18 points to pace a 55-percent shooting effort by the Bucks. Jennings was 7-of-10 from the field and Boykins came off the bench to hit 8-of-9.

Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 13 for Milwaukee, and John Salmons and Larry Sanders had 12 each.

Cleveland was paced by 15 points from Samardo Samuels. Cleveland has lost three in a row and the Cavaliers’ 12 victories this season are three fewer than any other team in the NBA.

Milwaukee outscored the Cavaliers over the final 8 minutes of the second quarter 28-16 to take a 62-49 advantage at the break and was not threatened during the final two quarters.

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

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Jennings, Boykins lead Bucks over Cavs

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brandon Jennings and Earl Boykins each scored 18 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 110-90 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

Boykins had all of his points in the first half, then Jennings scored 14 in the third quarter as Milwaukee enjoyed its second blowout in two days, thanks to 55.1 percent shooting.

The Bucks, who won 95-76 on Tuesday at Washington, have won back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 28-29.

Samardo Samuels scored 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter for Cleveland, which lost for the fifth time in six games. The Cavaliers, 4-28 on the road, also 13 points from Daniel Gibson.

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