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.

H. Rumph Jr./Associated Press

Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash, right looks to pass as Philadelphia 76ers’ Thaddeus Young (21) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 24, 2011, in Philadelphia.

More on this topic

Up next: Bucks at Suns

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: US Airways Center, Phoenix
TV: FSAZ | Radio: KTAR 620 AM

Suns 104, Hornets 102 | Box score | Schedule

More Suns with Paul Coro

HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets finally rediscovered how to properly finish a home game.

Kevin Martin scored 36 points and the Rockets snapped a four-game home losing streak in a 93-84 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.

Luis Scola had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Jordan Hill added 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Rockets, who lost their previous four home games by an average of 4.5 points. Houston blew 16-point leads in two of the last three and lost in overtime.

“We just need to go back to basics and do what makes us dangerous,” Scola said. “We did the right thing (today). We were up on the scoreboard, they came back and we didn’t panic. We got some stops, we kept running. That’s the way we need to close games.”

Corey Maggette scored a season-high 25 points for the Bucks, who’ve lost 11 straight games in Houston and remain the only team without a victory at the Toyota Center, which opened in 2003.

Milwaukee has lost eight of its last 10 games overall.

“For some reason, we had no energy,” Bucks center Andrew Bogut said. “It was looking like everybody was tired. It looked like we were just worn out.”

The Rockets looked lethargic for a while, too. They shot 37 percent (35-of-95) and one-for-11 from three-point range and mustered only 39 points by halftime.

Martin asked officials to change basketballs at halftime and that seemed to make a difference for the Rockets, who hit 14 of 23 shots and scored 35 points in the third.

“We weren’t playing with that ball anymore,” Martin said. “That ball felt like it just came out of the package.”

Houston also improved its passing after halftime, recording eight assists in the third quarter after getting just 12 in the first half.

“Both teams, in the first half, missed a ton of shots,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. “It’s hard to score in the low 80s and win games in this league. We just didn’t execute well.”

“We were moving the ball, and that’s the best thing about our team when we’re rolling,” Martin said. “When we’re moving the ball, we’re hard to stop.”

Scola, three for 11 in the first half, scored seven points in the first six minutes after halftime to pull the Rockets even at 53-53. Shane Battier made Houston’s first three with 1:35 left in the third quarter, and Martin’s free throws in the last minute to put the Rockets up 70-64.

Scola and Martin combined to score 22 points in the third quarter and the Rockets took a 74-66 lead to the fourth.

Houston missed nine of its first 10 shots in the final quarter, but the Bucks couldn’t make up enough ground. Hill hit a jumper and a driving layup to push the lead to nine.

“We were right there,” Maggette said, “but we just gave Houston too many opportunities.”

The game got off to an ugly start, with the teams combining to miss 18 of their first 23 shots.

The Rockets found their touch first, building a six-point lead on Martin’s second dunk of the game. The Bucks missed 14 of their first 19 shots, some of them layups.

Ersan Ilyasova’s jumper with 1.8 seconds left in the first quarter made it 18-15.

Early in the second quarter, Milwaukee’s Drew Gooden blocked Hill’s shot on a drive, and Hill landed hard on his side. Hill stayed on the floor for several minutes as Houston’s trainers checked on him.

“It just knocked the wind out of me,” Hill said. “I couldn’t talk. I had to take small, little breaths.”

Hill stayed in the game and hit two free throws for a 22-19 Houston lead.

Both teams were shooting 33 percent (10 for 33) for the game midway through the second quarter and neither team had hit a three-pointer (zero for 10) or reached 30 points.

Scola just beat the halftime buzzer with a jumper to tie it at 39-39. Maggette had 13 points on six-for-10 shooting in the first half to lead the Bucks — the rest of the team shot 11 for 33.

Notes

The Rockets held their opponent under 100 points for the first time in 12 games. … Scola recorded his 11th double-double of the season. … Rockets C Brad Miller missed a fourth straight game with a sore left knee. Houston F Patrick Patterson was also out after leaving Saturday’s game against Atlanta with an upper respiratory infection. … Skiles doesn’t expect G Brandon Jennings (broken left foot) to return to practice this week. Jennings had surgery on Dec. 20 and was expected to miss four to six weeks. “There hasn’t been any setback, he’s on course,” Skiles said. “It’s a day-by-day thing.”

 

Published Tuesday, January 18, 2011 12:01 AM

By CHRIS DUNCAN
Associated Press

HOUSTON — Kevin Martin scored 36 points and the Houston Rockets recovered from their lowest first-half point total of the season in a 93-84 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.

Luis Scola had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Jordan Hill added 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Rockets, who snapped a four-game home losing streak.

Corey Maggette scored a season-high 25 points for the Bucks, who’ve lost 11 straight games in Houston and remain the only team without a victory at the Toyota Center.

The Rockets shot 37 percent (35 of 95) and went 1 for 11 from 3-point range. They had only 39 points at halftime, then took control with a 35-point third quarter.

Both teams shot poorly in the first half, then picked it up after the break.

Keyon Dooling and Salmons made back-to-back 3-pointers, the first 3s of the game. Scola, 3 for 11 in the first half, scored seven points in the first 6 minutes after halftime to pull the Rockets even at 53-all.

Shane Battier made Houston’s first 3 with 1:35 left in the third quarter, and Martin’s free throws in the last minute to put the Rockets up 70-64.

Scola and Martin combined to score 22 points in the third quarter and the Rockets took a 74-66 lead to the fourth.

Houston shot 61 percent in the third quarter (14 of 23), then missed nine of its first 10 shots in the final quarter. Hill hit a jumper and a driving layup to push the lead to nine.

The Bucks have lost eight of their last 10 games.

The game got off to an ugly start, with the teams combining to miss 18 of their first 23 shots.

The Rockets found their touch first, building a six-point lead on Martin’s second dunk of the game. The Bucks missed 14 of their first 19 shots, some of them layups.

Ersan Ilyasova’s jumper with 1.8 seconds left in the first quarter made it 18-15.

Both teams were shooting 33 percent (10 for 33) for the game midway through the second quarter and neither team had hit a 3-pointer (0 for 10) or reached 30 points.

Scola just beat the halftime buzzer with a jumper to tie it at 39-all. Maggette had 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting in the first half to lead the Bucks — the rest of the team shot 11 for 33.

---

HOUSTON (AP)—Kevin Martin(notes) scored 36 points and the Houston Rockets recovered from their lowest first-half point total of the season in a 93-84 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.

Luis Scola(notes) had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Jordan Hill(notes) added 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Rockets, who snapped a four-game home losing streak.

Corey Maggette(notes) scored a season-high 25 points for the Bucks, who’ve lost 11 straight games in Houston and remain the only team without a victory at the Toyota Center.

The Rockets shot 37 percent (35 of 95) and went 1-for-11 from 3-point range. They had only 39 points at halftime, then took control with a 35-point third quarter.

Both teams shot poorly in the first half, then picked it up after the break.

Keyon Dooling(notes) and Salmons made back-to-back 3-pointers, the first 3s of the game. Scola, 3 for 11 in the first half, scored seven points in the first 6 minutes after halftime to pull the Rockets even at 53-all.

Shane Battier(notes) made Houston’s first 3 with 1:35 left in the third quarter, and Martin’s free throws in the last minute to put the Rockets up 70-64.

Scola and Martin combined to score 22 points in the third quarter and the Rockets took a 74-66 lead to the fourth.

Houston shot 61 percent in the third quarter (14 of 23), then missed nine of its first 10 shots in the final quarter. Hill hit a jumper and a driving layup to push the lead to nine.

The Bucks have lost eight of their last 10 games.

The game got off to an ugly start, with the teams combining to miss 18 of their first 23 shots.

The Rockets found their touch first, building a six-point lead on Martin’s second dunk of the game. The Bucks missed 14 of their first 19 shots, some of them layups.

Ersan Ilyasova’s(notes) jumper with 1.8 seconds left in the first quarter made it 18-15.

Early in the second quarter, Milwaukee’s Drew Gooden(notes) blocked Hill’s shot on a drive, and Hill landed hard on his side. Hill stayed on the floor for several minutes as Houston’s trainers checked on him. Hill stayed in the game and hit two free throws for a 22-19 Houston lead.

Both teams were shooting 33 percent (10 for 33) for the game midway through the second quarter and neither team had hit a 3-pointer (0 for 10) or reached 30 points.

Scola just beat the halftime buzzer with a jumper to tie it at 39-all. Maggette had 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting in the first half to lead the Bucks — the rest of the team shot 11 for 33.

NOTES: The Rockets held their opponent under 100 points for the first time in 12 games. … Scola recorded his 11th double-double of the season. … Rockets C Brad Miller(notes) missed a fourth straight game with a sore left knee. Houston F Patrick Patterson(notes) was also out after leaving Saturday’s game against Atlanta with an upper respiratory infection. … Bucks coach Scott Skiles doesn’t expect G Brandon Jennings(notes) (broken left foot) to return to practice this week. Jennings had surgery on Dec. 20 and was expected to miss four to six weeks. “There hasn’t been any setback, he’s on course,” Skiles said. “It’s a day-by-day thing.”