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Tuesday, Jan. 2 8:30pm ET
Bucks mess with Bulls, don't get horns

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

CHICAGO (AP) -- Glenn Robinson and the Milwaukee Bucks jumped on the Chicago Bulls early and never let up Tuesday night.

G. Robinson
Robinson

"We just wanted to take control. We definitely took care of business," Robinson said after Milwaukee's 104-70 victory, the Bucks' most lopsided win ever over Chicago.

Milwaukee hadn't beaten the Bulls so decisively since a 33-point win on March 30, 1984 -- before Michael Jordan arrived.

"No one feels sorry for you in this league," said Robinson, who led six double-figures scorers with 21 points. "If you feel sorry for a team, you may let them back in. We just wanted to make sure we won here."

The Bucks took a 22-4 lead, and then ran away as fans at the United Center, who'd been patient during the first two seasons of Bulls' rebuilding, began to boo.

And no wonder. Chicago's performance included 19 turnovers, 34-percent shooting and a defense that allowed one easy shot after another.

Elton Brand, who led the Bulls with 17 points, didn't blame the fans for booing.

"I felt the same way," he said. "We put on a bad show. We were turning it over. You can expect that. Fans recognize effort and we weren't giving our best effort. We didn't play any defense."

Tim Thomas, who turned down a big contract offer from the Bulls in the offseason to stay with the Bucks, added 20 points for Milwaukee.

"They have players like (Ron) Mercer, (Ron) Artest and Elton, but it's very hard when you're young," Thomas said. "You get no calls and you are playing against guys who have been in the league seven or eight years.

"That was part of my thought in staying in Milwaukee. I could come to Chicago and average 20-25 points, but with no wins."

The Bucks, winners of 14 of their last 18 since a 3-9 start, had their biggest lead of the game at 95-54 with just over seven minutes to go.

Chicago missed 14 of its first 16 shots and was 6-for-25 in the first period against the Bucks' aggressive defense. Milwaukee, meanwhile, shot 60 percent to take a 36-15 lead after one quarter.

In three successive trips down the floor, the Bulls were as bad as they have been all season. Artest dribbled the ball of his leg on a breakaway and had another shot blocked before rookie Marcus Fizer missed a driving layup. That brought the boos cascading down.

The Bucks led 57-32 at the half as Robinson and Sam Cassell scored 13 points each and the Bulls shot just 29 percent.

Game notes
The Bucks' biggest margin of victory ever on the road is 39 points against the Knicks in 1987. ...Bucks coach George Karl on how his team overcame its disappointing start: "Perseverance. That's part of this league. And the biggest part was that we didn't have any embarrassing losses. We played some embarrassing basketball but we didn't have an embarrassing loss." ... Bucks forward and ex-Bull Jason Caffey didn't start after missing a Monday night practice when he was snowed in after going home to Alabama.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Milwaukee Clubhouse

Chicago Clubhouse


RECAPS
Washington 115
Minnesota 108

Atlanta 92
Boston 81

Houston 100
Cleveland 95

New Jersey 120
Orlando 110

Milwaukee 104
Chicago 70

San Antonio 80
Miami 72

Indiana 91
Seattle 83

LA Clippers 110
Toronto 97

Sacramento 121
Phoenix 117

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

George Karl Official Site


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