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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Ray Allen's heart sank as Sacramento's
sharpshooter pulled up for a wide-open 3-pointer at the buzzer that
would erase the final scraps of Milwaukee's 16-point fourth-quarter
lead.
|  | | Glenn Robinson swats a shot attempt by Sacramento center Vlade Divac in the Bucks' victory. |
"Overtime," was all Allen could fathom as Predrag Stojakovic
released the ball and a hush swept through the Bradley Center.
But Stojakovic's shot stayed left and Milwaukee held off the
Kings 112-109 in a freewheeling, fire-'em-up game between division
leaders Tuesday night.
"I think he was surprised how wide open he was," a relieved
Allen said.
Kings coach Rick Adelman slammed his fist on the sideline table
three times before walking off the court dejected.
"You can't play from behind on the road against a good team and
expect to win," he said.
But oh, how close the Kings had come.
"We didn't make stops. We thought we had the game under
control," Bucks coach George Karl said. "And we were fortunate. I
mean, that last shot could have gone in and broken our hearts.
"I don't know if we could have won in overtime."
Especially with Chris Webber doing his thing.
Webber, who missed the shootaround with a stomach virus, had 39
points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Kings, whose loss put
idle Portland atop the Pacific Division.
"We made a valiant effort," said Webber, who scored seven
points in the final 35 seconds.
"He's a hell of a player and had a hell of a night," Karl
said. "But I thought we still had control of winning the game."
But the Bucks made a slew of uncharacteristic turnovers in the
fourth quarter and missed 5-of-8 free throws in the final 23
seconds, including one by Glenn Robinson that would have iced it
with 4.9 seconds left.
The Central Division-leading Bucks got 29 points from Sam
Cassell and 28 from Allen. Milwaukee led almost the entire game,
trailing just once, at 36-35.
The Bucks led 93-77 on Lindsey Hunter's jumper to start the
fourth quarter but they didn't have the victory in hand until
Stojakovic missed at the buzzer.
"I knew they weren't going to lay down, not on national TV,"
Allen said.
Milwaukee, which improved to an Eastern Conference-best 19-6 at
home and 7-9 against the West, appeared to have the game in hand
after Cassell and Scott Williams had key offensive rebounds that
allowed the Bucks to burn nearly a minute off the clock at the end.
Williams went to the line and made one of two for a 107-100 lead
with 38.2 seconds left. Webber's 3-pointer made it 109-105 with 24
seconds left and Stojakovic's fastbreak layup made it 110-107 with
10 seconds left.
Stojakovic finished with 23 points.
Only Sacramento, averaging 100.9 points, is scoring at a higher
rate than the Bucks, who are ringing it up at 100.3 points.
Cassell and Webber kept up the frenetic pace in the first half.
Thanks to Cassell's 21 points in 19 minutes, the Bucks led 59-51 at
halftime. Webber had 18 points in 18 minutes before halftime.
"For about 46 minutes, I thought we played a very good
basketball game," Karl said. "We missed five free throws in the
last 23 seconds. That's not going to help you much."
But an errant 3-pointer by Stojakovic did.
Game notes
Allen strained his right ring finger in the first quarter
but the injury didn't keep him out of action. ... Bucks coach
George Karl said he expects to agree to a new two-year contract
extension soon. ... Karl is one victory shy of his 100th with
Milwaukee. ... Both teams shot 22-for-45 from the floor in the
first half, but the Kings were whistled for 15 fouls to Milwaukee's
six. ... Hedo Turkoglu played despite a sprained left ankle.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Sacramento Clubhouse
Milwaukee Clubhouse
RECAPS
Orlando 109
Charlotte 83
Detroit 94
Denver 83
New Jersey 90
Atlanta 84
Miami 102
Indiana 89
Milwaukee 112
Sacramento 109
Phoenix 97
Chicago 80
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Ray Allen steps in front of a pass and goes the other way for the jam.
avi: 578 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Chris Webber fills the lane with a one-handed jam.
avi: 592 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Sam Cassell and Ray Allen discuss the Bucks victory.
wav: 176 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
George Karl Official Site
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