MILWAUKEE (AP) – Brandon Jennings scored 15 of his 22 points in
the second half to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 102-81 victory
over the winless Washington Wizards on Friday night.

Ersan Ilyasova had 16 points, and Carlos Delfino, who missed the
first two games of the season with a sprained right wrist, added 15
off the bench for Milwaukee (2-1). Andrew Bogut had 13 points, 15
rebounds and three blocks.

Jordan Crawford, benched in favor of Nick Young after scoring one
point in a loss at Atlanta on Wednesday, led Washington (0-3) with
24 points. John Wall had six points on 1-of-9 shooting and four
turnovers.

Washington also was called for a technical foul when Roger Mason
Jr., who was not on the active list, checked into the game.

Jennings has scored 22, 24 and 22 points in three games this
season.

The first half went about as badly as it could go for the Wizards -
starting with the technical.

Mason had checked in for Jordan Crawford with 3:27 mark left in the
first quarter and he scored on a baseline jumper seven seconds
later. However, during a timeout at the 2:53 mark, the Wizards were
whistled for the technical. The basket was later taken away from
Mason and credited to Rashard Lewis.

Jennings made the technical free throw to make it 25-18 Milwaukee,
and Ronny Turiaf’s dunk made it 25-20 before the Bucks poured it
on.

Milwaukee outscored the Wizards 40-21 the rest of the half to take
a 65-41 lead. The Bucks, 22nd in the league in field goal
percentage coming in, shot 61.5 percent in the half to Washington’s
34 percent. Young and Wall combined to go 1 for 11 in the first
half.

Washington opened the second half on a 15-4 run, holding Milwaukee
without a field goal for more than five minutes. The Wizards
outscored the Bucks 26-13 in the period and trailed 78-67 after
three quarters.

Crawford had 12 points in the third.

Washington cut it to nine on a dunk by JaVale McGee to open the
fourth, but the Wizards got no closer the rest of the way.

“Right now we should really be 3-0,” Jennings said. “We were up at halftime against Charlotte, and we lost a lead. And tonight we were up (24) at half and let a team come back. That is something we really need to focus on, especially going on a West Coast road trip. On the road in hostile environments you have got to be able to contain the lead and take over.”

Jordan Crawford, benched in favor of Nick Young after scoring one point in a loss at Atlanta on Wednesday, led Washington (0-3) with 24 points. John Wall had six points on 1-of-9 shooting and four turnovers.

Ersan Ilyasova had 16 points, and Carlos Delfino, who missed the first two games of the season with a sprained right wrist, added 15 off the bench for Milwaukee (2-1). Andrew Bogut had 13 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.

Jennings has scored 22, 24 and 22 points in three games this season.

“He has been very efficient,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. “He is doing a good job in the first half of the games of moving the ball around and seeing people and kind of taking his scoring opportunities as they come. And then as the game has gone on he’s gotten a little more aggressive, especially when we’ve struggled a little bit in those stretches.

“That’s what the good players do.”

The first half went about as badly as it could go for the Wizards – starting with a technical foul called when Roger Mason Jr., who was not on the active list, checked into the game.

Mason had come in for Crawford with 3:27 left in the first quarter and scored on a baseline jumper seven seconds later. However, during a timeout at the 2:53 mark, the Wizards were whistled for the technical. The basket was later taken away from Mason and credited to Rashard Lewis. Jennings made the technical free throw to make it 25-18 Milwaukee, and Ronny Turiaf’s dunk made it 25-20 before the Bucks poured it on.

Wizards coach Flip Saunders took responsibility for Mason being disqualified from the game. The Wizards public relations staff also took the blame.

The NBA provides a roster to teams to circle who will be inactive for each game. The list excluded Mason’s name, and neither Saunders nor the PR staff caught the mistake before sending the final active roster to the league office.

The Bucks statistical staff noticed the mistake when they tried to enter Mason’s basket.

“It’s my fault,” Saunders said. “I didn’t notice it. I take responsibility for that. I thought he would have given us some help.”

Said Mason: “It was just human error. Just a mistake. It happens.”

Milwaukee outscored the Wizards 40-21 the rest of the half to take a 65-41 lead. The Bucks, 22nd in the league in field goal percentage coming in, shot 61.5 percent in the half to Washington’s 34 percent. Young and Wall combined to go 1 for 11 in the first half.

If you had to choose between living in Milwaukee or Turkey, what would you choose?

Ersan Ilyasova wants to choose Turkey, but may not get that option.

Ilyasova is playing for Anadolu Efes in Istanbul during the lockout, although the Bucks have an option on him for the upcoming season and his deal has an NBA opt-out. Which means if the lockout ends he is obligated to go stateside. But Ilyasova doesn’t want to opt out, according to Sportando.

“I want to stay with Anadolu Efes for the whole year. I hope there is a FIBA rule which would allow me to play the season in Turkey and Efes to keep me. We will fight for TBL and Euroleague. Our goal for the season is to reach the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four in Istanbul. We know we are in a very tough group in Euroleague but we have to go step-by-step” said Ilyasova, as reported by Salsabasket.

Ilyasova was a spot starter for the Bucks last season, averaging 25 minutes and 9.5 points per game. He is a solid backup forward that the Bucks could use. And at a very affordable $2.5 million next season the Bucks likely want him back.

FIBA, ball is in your court.

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Bucks are in discussions with franchise icon Sidney Moncrief about returning to the team as an assistant coach, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been completed. Moncrief’s potential move was reported by multiple media outlets, including Yahoo Sports and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, earlier Wednesday.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles has an opening on his staff after Kelvin Sampson left to join Kevin McHale as an assistant with the Houston Rockets.

Moncrief played 10 of his 11 NBA seasons in Milwaukee, becoming a leader of the Bucks’ competitive teams in the 1980s. He was a two-time defensive player of the year.

It’s the continuation of an offseason makeover for the Bucks, who shook up their roster after last season’s disappointing 35-47 campaign.

Milwaukee made a three-team trade on draft day, acquiring Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston and Beno Udrih. The Bucks traded away Corey Maggette, John Salmons and the draft rights to Jimmer Fredette.

Milwaukee came away from the draft with a pair of forwards, Tennessee’s Tobias Harris and Wisconsin’s Jon Leuer.

The Bucks are scheduled to start the season at San Antonio on Nov. 2, but the NBA’s lockout could threaten the beginning of the season.

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Connect with AP Sports Writer Chris Jenkins: http://www.twitter.com/ByChrisJenkins

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks are in discussions with franchise icon Sidney Moncrief about returning to the team as an assistant coach, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been completed. Moncrief’s potential move was reported by multiple media outlets, including Yahoo Sports and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, earlier Wednesday.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles has an opening on his staff after Kelvin Sampson left to join Kevin McHale as an assistant with the Houston Rockets.

Moncrief played 10 of his 11 NBA seasons in Milwaukee, becoming a leader of the Bucks’ competitive teams in the 1980s. He was a two-time defensive player of the year.

It’s the continuation of an offseason makeover for the Bucks, who shook up their roster after last season’s disappointing 35-47 campaign.

Milwaukee made a three-team trade on draft day, acquiring Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston and Beno Udrih. The Bucks traded away Corey Maggette, John Salmons and the draft rights to Jimmer Fredette.

Milwaukee came away from the draft with a pair of forwards, Tennessee’s Tobias Harris and Wisconsin’s Jon Leuer.

The Bucks are scheduled to start the season at San Antonio on Nov. 2, but the NBA’s lockout could threaten the beginning of the season.