| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
PHOENIX (AP) -- After a week on the job, Scott Skiles still
doesn't know what it's like to lose a game as an NBA head coach.
Rodney Rogers, starting in place of Tom Gugliotta, had a
season-high 24 points and 13 rebounds Monday night as the Phoenix
Suns stayed unbeaten under Skiles with a 108-101 victory over the
Milwaukee Bucks.
|  | | Milwaukee's Danny Manning scored four points against his former team. |
"Obviously at some point we're going to lose a game," Skiles said, "but I enter every game with the concept that we're going to play well and win."
The Suns, who snapped Milwaukee's three-game winning streak, are 4-0 since Danny Ainge resigned as coach and was replaced by his top assistant.
"This is what basketball's all about," Oliver Miller said, "having fun, and you can see we're having fun out there. Guys are
hitting shots, getting back on defense. That's what it's all
about."
Cliff Robinson scored 19 and fouled out with 1:06 to play. Rex
Chapman scored all 16 of his points in the first half for the Suns,
who had just nine players in uniform for the second game in a row.
"The guys are playing their hearts out right now. I can't
complain," Skiles said. "I'm looking out there and I see the guys
are tired and yet they keep going and keep playing. I have a lot of
respect for them."
Jason Kidd, the NBA player of the week coming off consecutive triple-doubles, had 13 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
Miller had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Randy Livingston scored 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting.
Ray Allen scored 31 for the Bucks, but was 0-for-4 from the field in the fourth quarter. Sam Cassell had 19 points and 10 assists before fouling out with 2:14 to play. Glenn Robinson scored
19, and Tim Thomas had 16.
"We went into the fourth quarter down two and I think what
happened is we went into a shell," Allen said. "We didn't pass
the ball and really we didn't guard anybody. We couldn't guard a
wall tonight. It became a shootout from the jump ball through the
whole game."
The Bucks led only once in the second half, 84-83, on Thomas'
3-pointer to start the fourth quarter. Livingston scored six and
had a steal to ignite a 15-0 run that put the Suns up 98-84 on
Miller's inside basket with 6:49 to play. Robinson and Kidd each
made 3-pointers during the outburst.
The closest the Bucks got after that was 106-101 on Allen's two
free throws with 19 seconds to go.
"We played some good basketball along the way, but our defense
never got in tune in the game," Milwaukee coach George Karl said.
"We tried to outshoot them, and that's very difficult to do on an
opposing team's court."
Neither team led by more than six points in an up-and-down first
half. Phoenix led 57-53 at the break behind 18 points by Rogers and
16 by Chapman.
The Bucks didn't shoot a free throw in the first half, while the Suns were 8-for-10 from the foul line.
An 11-5 spurt put Phoenix ahead 76-65 on Miller's three-point play with 3:59 to play in the third, but the Bucks came back behind Allen's shooting to cut it to 83-81 heading into the final quarter.
Phoenix was without Gugliotta for the second game in a row. He
was home resting after a seizure on the team bus Friday night in
Portland. So far, tests have turned up no reason for the incident.
Game notes
Allen was 6-for-7, including three of three 3-pointers, for
15 points in the first quarter. ... Suns team doctor Richard
Emerson said Gugliotta could be back by Sunday night's home game
against Golden State. ... The Bucks had won three road games in a
row. ... Phoenix is 13-2 at home. ... Phoenix's Penny Hardaway
missed his eighth game because of an injured right foot and the
Suns also are without Luc Longley and Shawn Marion. ... The Suns
had 18 second-chance points, to one for Milwaukee. ... The Suns
play in San Antonio on Tuesday night.
| |
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Phoenix Clubhouse
Doctor confident that Gugliotta's seizure was isolated incident
Amid the turmoil, Kidd makes his point with two triple-doubles in row
Former Suns coach MacLeod signs on as Phoenix assistant
RECAPS
LA Lakers 99
Boston 90
Philadelphia 122
Detroit 121
Minnesota 100
Cleveland 94
New York 112
Charlotte 109
Orlando 104
Utah 102
Seattle 93
Chicago 84
Miami 92
Dallas 89
Denver 97
Portland 88
Phoenix 108
Milwaukee 101
Golden State 111
Sacramento 99
|
