MILWAUKEE (AP)—

Rookie Jon Leuer converted a three-point play with 1:17 left, helping the Milwaukee Bucks hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 98-95 victory in their home opener Tuesday night.

Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and Stephen Jackson added 16 for the Bucks, who were playing without forward Drew Gooden because of a suspension and several other key players because of injuries.

Kevin Love had 31 points and 20 rebounds for the Timberwolves, whose late rally came up just short.

Minnesota was without coach Rick Adelman, who was attending funeral services for his mother-in-law. Assistant Terry Porter, a former head coach in Milwaukee, filled in for Adelman.

Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio had six points and four assists in 27-plus minutes. Rubio had six assists in his NBA debut on Monday, making a handful of spectacular passes in transition.

Milwaukee led by 10 after a pair of free throws by Jennings, but Luke Ridnour hit a long jumper and Michael Beasley hit a 3-pointer to cut the Bucks’ lead to 94-89 with just under three minutes left.

Andrew Bogut fouled out with 2:08 left, sending Love to the line. He hit one of two free throws to cut the lead to four. After a miss by Jennings, Beasley hit a jumper to cut the lead to two with 1:42 left.

Leuer took a pass from Jennings and went up strong to the basket. The ball went in as Leuer was fouled, and the second-round pick out of Wisconsin hit the free throw to complete the three-point play and put the Bucks up 97-92 with 1:17 left.

Free throws helped the Timberwolves cut the lead to 98-95, and they had the bal with 7.2 seconds left. But Love missed a 3-pointer and Leuer grabbed the rebound.

Already leading by 12 at halftime, Milwaukee went on a 15-7 run to start the second half.

Jackson hit a 3-pointer, Mike Dunleavy picked up a loose ball on the other end and fired a long outlet pass to Jennings, who made an acrobatic layup in transition to give the Bucks a 20-point lead with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Milwaukee then hit a cold shooting stretch near the end of the third quarter, allowing Minnesota to cut the lead to 79-68 going into the fourth quarter. It was far less of a third-quarter lull than the Bucks had in Monday’s season opener at Charlotte, when they led at halftime but scored only 14 points in the third quarter and wound up losing 96-95.

Love made a living at the free throw line against a depleted Bucks defense in the first quarter, drawing whistle after whistle and forcing Bucks coach Scott Skiles to keep rotating through frontcourt players getting in foul trouble.

Love shot 15 free throws in the first quarter alone, hitting 13 and drawing the ire of Skiles, who was called for a technical foul with 1:22 left in the quarter after yet another call went Love’s way.

Love’s trips to the line slowed down after that, and the Bucks ended the second quarter with an 18-6 run to take a 60-48 lead into halftime.

The Bucks came into Tuesday’s game short-handed in the frontcourt and expecting a handful from the Timberwolves.

Gooden was suspended for Tuesday night’s game after committing a flagrant foul in the Bucks’ season-opening loss at Charlotte on Monday night. Beyond that, Bucks defensive stopper Luc Richard Mbah a Moute remained sidelined by tendinitis in his right knee, while Carlos Delfino (sprained right wrist) and first-round rookie Tobias Harris (dehyrdation) also sat out Tuesday’s game.

MILWAUKEE (AP)—Rookie Jon Leuer converted a three-point play with 1:17
left, helping the Milwaukee Bucks hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves for a
98-95 victory in their home opener Tuesday night.

Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and Stephen Jackson added 16 for the
Bucks, who were playing without forward Drew Gooden because of a suspension and
several other key players because of injuries.

Kevin Love had 31 points and 20 rebounds for the Timberwolves, whose late
rally came up just short.

Minnesota was without coach Rick Adelman, who was attending funeral services
for his mother-in-law. Assistant Terry Porter, a former head coach in Milwaukee,
filled in for Adelman.

Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio had six points and four assists in 27-plus
minutes. Rubio had six assists in his NBA debut on Monday, making a handful of
spectacular passes in transition.

Milwaukee led by 10 after a pair of free throws by Jennings, but Luke
Ridnour hit a long jumper and Michael Beasley hit a 3-pointer to cut the Bucks’
lead to 94-89 with just under three minutes left.

Andrew Bogut fouled out with 2:08 left, sending Love to the line. He hit one
of two free throws to cut the lead to four.

After a miss by Jennings, Beasley hit a jumper to cut the lead to two with
1:42 left.

Leuer took a pass from Jennings and went up strong to the basket. The ball
went in as Leuer was fouled, and the second-round pick out of Wisconsin hit the
free throw to complete the three-point play and put the Bucks up 97-92 with 1:17
left.

Free throws helped the Timberwolves cut the lead to 98-95, and they had the
ball with 7.2 seconds left. But Love missed a 3-pointer and Leuer grabbed the
rebound.

Already leading by 12 at halftime, Milwaukee went on a 15-7 run to start the
second half.

Jackson hit a 3-pointer, Mike Dunleavy picked up a loose ball on the other
end and fired a long outlet pass to Jennings, who made an acrobatic layup in
transition to give the Bucks a 20-point lead with just under seven minutes left
in the third quarter.

Milwaukee then hit a cold shooting stretch near the end of the third
quarter, allowing Minnesota to cut the lead to 79-68 going into the fourth
quarter. It was far less of a third-quarter lull than the Bucks had in Monday’s
season opener at Charlotte, when they led at halftime but scored only 14 points
in the third quarter and wound up losing 96-95.

Love made a living at the free throw line against a depleted Bucks defense
in the first quarter, drawing whistle after whistle and forcing Bucks coach
Scott Skiles to keep rotating through frontcourt players getting in foul
trouble.

Love shot 15 free throws in the first quarter alone, hitting 13—and
drawing the ire of Skiles, who was called for a technical foul with 1:22 left in
the quarter after yet another call went Love’s way.

Love’s trips to the line slowed down after that, and the Bucks ended the
second quarter with an 18-6 run to take a 60-48 lead into halftime.

The Bucks came into Tuesday’s game short-handed in the frontcourt and
expecting a handful from the Timberwolves.

Gooden was suspended for Tuesday night’s game after committing a flagrant
foul in the Bucks’ season-opening loss at Charlotte on Monday night.

Beyond that, Bucks defensive stopper Luc Richard Mbah a Moute remained
sidelined by tendinitis in his right knee, while Carlos Delfino (sprained right
wrist) and first-round rookie Tobias Harris (dehyrdation) also sat out Tuesday’s
game.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Milwaukee Bucks forward Drew Gooden was
suspended without pay for the team’s first home game Tuesday night
for his flagrant foul in the season opener.

Gooden was ejected late in the third quarter Monday for clocking
Gerald Henderson in the head with his arm as the Bobcats guard
attempted to make a driving layup in Charlotte’s 96-95 win.

“Once they rule that, it’s going to be looked at very carefully in the league office,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. “Those are tough calls, and the league makes them.”

Gooden’s suspension leaves the Bucks particularly short-handed for their home opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Carlos Delfino and Tobias Harris will not play Tuesday night because of injuries.

Mbah a Moute has tendinitis in his right knee, Delfino has a sprained right wrist and Harris, a rookie, has been out with dehydration.

Gooden scored four points off the bench before his ejection.

The 10th-year veteran averaged 11.3 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Bucks last season.

NEW YORK, Dec. 27 (UPI) — The NBA announced Tuesday Milwaukee Bucks forward Drew Gooden has been suspended one game for his flagrant foul against Charlotte’s Gerald Henderson.

The suspension announced by Stu Jackson, NBA executive vice president of basketball operations, was for “excessive contact with the head of Henderson” during the teams’ game Monday, the NBA’s release said.

The infraction came with 27.3 seconds left in the third quarter of the Bucks’ 96-95 loss.

Gooden will miss the Bucks’ home opener Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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 2½ 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.”

The Wizards pulled off a rare feat in the NBA by having five rookies on the court together – John Wall, Crawford, Trevor Booker, Hamady Ndiaye and Mustafa Shakur at one point late in the first quarter and early in the second. The last team to use an only rookie lineup was the Houston Rockets on March 1, 2010.

“That was probably our best stint, to be honest,” Saunders said. “They competed, and we had really a pretty good stretch at that time.”