|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- Irritated by what he considered a hack-a-Mac
defense, Antonio McDyess took out his frustration on the Milwaukee
Bucks.
McDyess scored 35 points and was 15-of-19 from the free-throw
line, as the Denver Nuggets survived a second-half scare in a
120-113 victory over the Bucks on Saturday night.
McDyess also had 14 rebounds and completed a crucial three-point
play on a dunk over Jerome Kersey with 1:45 remaining. The play set
off a trash-talking, fist-pumping celebration for the typically
reserved forward.
"Man, they killed me. On that alley-oop, I had to get pumped
up," he said. "I looked up and Kersey was under the rim. I just
screamed to their bench and just wanted them to know it ain't going
to be easy to come back on us."
Raef LaFrentz added 26 points and 10 rebounds, and all five
Denver starters scored in double figures to help the Nuggets end
Milwaukee's four-game winning streak. The Bucks could not recover
from a 26-point halftime deficit.
"We came out happy and filled with Christmas," Milwaukee coach
George Karl said. "Most teams have a bad game during the holidays
and we had one."
Glenn Robinson led Milwaukee with 31 points, including 14 in the
fourth quarter. Ray Allen had 26 and Lindsey Hunter 24 for the
Bucks, who were without starting point guard Sam Cassell. Cassell
left the team because of a death in his family.
Without its assist leader, Milwaukee made a late charge and cut
Denver's lead to 96-92 on Allen's 3-pointer from the left corner
with 3:05 left.
McDyess, who has 14 double-doubles in 16 games, responded with
two free throws and then slammed the door when he dunked a lob pass
from Voshon Lenard to put Denver back up by nine.
Milwaukee never got any closer than the final score, and lost
for just the fourth time in 17 games.
"You don't want to know about the game plan and how poorly it
was executed," Karl said. "Poor leadership, poor focus, and poor
preparation. It's everybody's fault. We were too happy. We took
yesterday off and we should have practiced, so bad coaching is in
there, too."
Denver made 9-of-10 free throws in the final 1:16 and finished
48-for-60 from the line. The attempts tied for the third-most in
team history. The Nuggets also shot 60 against the Kansas City
Kings on Jan. 4, 1983.
"Too many free throws," said Bucks center Ervin Johnson, one
of four Milwaukee players to foul out. "Some were fouls, but some
of the other ones were touch fouls. That's not what the fans pay
for. They don't pay to watch that all night."
The Nuggets played the final 18 minutes without coach Dan Issel,
who was ejected by referee Hank Armstrong for protesting a
technical that Armstrong called on LaFrentz with 6:20 left in the
third quarter.
Issel, his face turning a deep shade of red, left the court
shouting, "Every (darn) game!"
Allen made all three free throws, and Scott Williams followed
with another to cut Denver's lead to 72-59. The Bucks trailed by
just 12 heading to the final period after Allen hit a 3-pointer
from the left corner.
The Nuggets were just 2-for-13 in the third and scored 13 of
their 18 points from the free-throw line.
"I'm not going to talk about the officiating," Issel said.
"That was a very wild game, but I don't want anything to detract
from the fact that was a big win for us."
Denver built a 22-point lead in the game's first 10 minutes and
got 20 first-half points apiece from McDyess and LaFrentz en route
to a 69-43 lead at the break.
The output matched a season-high for a half, and came against a
Milwaukee team that had held the opposition to an average of 86
points during its recent winning streak.
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Orlando 95
Boston 90
Houston 114
Dallas 99
Seattle 104
Charlotte 102
Miami 110
Detroit 102
San Antonio 89
Indiana 77
New York 88
Minnesota 79
Philadelphia 107
Sacramento 104
Phoenix 109
Toronto 103
Denver 120
Milwaukee 113
Golden State 102
Vancouver 101
LA Lakers 116
LA Clippers 114
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
George Karl Official Site
|
