RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
HOUSTON (AP) -- Walt Williams has stressed his footwork in recent
practice sessions and it paid off with his biggest offensive game
since joining the Houston Rockets last season.
|  | | Houston's Walt Williams defends against Milwaukee's Jason Caffey Thursday night. |
"Tonight, I concentrated on my footwork. That's what I've been
working on and it looks like it helped," Williams said after
scoring 28 points to lead the Rockets to a 115-93 victory over the
Milwaukee Bucks Thursday.
It's nice to be on a team where I can do more than just shoot
the 3,"Williams added. "That's about all I've been able to do on
the last couple of team's I've played for. Tonight, I was out there
looking for the open shot and creating chances."
The victory was a costly one for Houston, with both starting
forward Maurice Taylor and reserve center Kelvin Cato suffering
ankle sprains. Cato is expected to be out four to six weeks, while
Taylor is day to day.
Shandon Anderson added 25 points for Houston, while Glenn
Robinson led Milwaukee with 24 points, Sam Cassell had 22 and Ray
Allen 19.
With Williams scoring 23 of his points, the Rockets took a 70-49
halftime lead. But Milwaukee outscored the Rockets 20-8 to cut
Houston's lead to 85-74 at the end of the third period.
"We really got off to a fast start. We were moving the ball
around and looking for 3s," Anderson said.
"Walt led us all night. The rest of the team just followed,"
Cuttino Mobley added.
Jason Caffey's basket with 9:32 left pulled Milwaukee to 87-79
before Houston regained the initiative, outscoring the Bucks 9-2 -- Matt Bullard scoring 5 of his 14 points in the run -- and coasting
to the victory.
"We are supposed to be improved defensively and I thought it
was a joke out there tonight," Milwaukee coach George Karl said.
"When you dig yourself a hole, you have to use a lot of energy. In
the second half our offense ran out of gas."
A 6-0 spurt gave Houston a 17-7 lead, which the Rockets built to
31-16 before the Bucks went on an 8-0 tear. Three-pointers by
Williams and Bullard boosted Houston to 37-26 going into the second
period.
A pair of baskets by Williams gave the Rockets a 46-28 lead with
8:30 left in the period. After four more Williams points, Houston
led 58-34 with 5:16 remaining.
Game
notes
Williams finished the game with 7,009 career points. ...
The Houston Rockets' average age is 26.8 years. ... Houston center
Kevin Cato suffered a left ankle sprain in the second quarter and
forward Maurice Taylor suffered a left ankle sprain in the third
period. ... Milwaukee's loss to Dallas in its season opener Tuesday
night snapped a nine-game opening-day winning streak, the third
longest in NBA history. All nine wins were on the road, an NBA
record for road openers. ... Bucks rookie Joel Przybilla and
Houston rookie Jason Collier were traded for one another on draft
night.
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NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Houston Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 94
Atlanta 69
Dallas 94
Indiana 88
San Antonio 103
Minnesota 91
Houston 115
Milwaukee 93
Denver 101
Golden State 97
Phoenix 108
Portland 82
Vancouver 99
LA Clippers 91
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