By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN, STATS Senior Writer
Mo Williams is playing so well for the Milwaukee Bucks, even Tony Parker
might be jealous.
The two ultra-quick point guards will square off for the first time this
season when Williams and the Bucks visit Parker and the San Antonio Spurs on
Tuesday.
Williams has been the catalyst to Milwaukee's season-high four-game winning
streak, averaging 26.3 points on 52 percent shooting and handing out 7.3 assists
per game.
"We're playing at a high level," Williams said. "I feel good and I'm
shooting the ball real well. I still get my teammates involved and that's what I
want to do."
It's the kind of effort San Antonio (21-7) has come to expect out of Parker,
who leads all point guards with 53 percent shooting while scoring 19.1 points
per game. He's a major reason why the Spurs are averaging a Western
Conference-low 14.4 turnovers.
Milwaukee (13-14) is averaging 114.3 points during its winning streak and
the strong play of Williams has taken the pressure off leading scorer Michael
Redd. Williams scored 32 points and Redd added 21 in the Bucks' 115-104 victory
over New Jersey on Saturday.
"Mo's been playing well, extremely well," Redd said. "He's playing hard,
smart basketball with a lot of confidence.
"We're all playing our best basketball right now. We're playing at a high
level. Everybody has a winning attitude. Everybody's sacrificing. It feels
really good to get some wins in a row. It really does."
Redd will be facing a difficult matchup of his own against San Antonio
defensive stopper Bruce Bowen. He's never scored more than 26 points in his
career against the Spurs, averaging 21.3 points in his last six starts against
them.
The Bucks leading scorer has 10 games with at least 30 points this season.
Milwaukee is trying to win five straight for the first time since Jan. 2-9,
2004. The Bucks also have won five in a row against the West.
"There is a confidence," Milwaukee coach Terry Stotts said. "I think
we're playing in a good rhythm now. We didn't have a four-game winning streak
all year last year. It's good to have it. We don't take anything for granted.
There's a seriousness, but there's also a confidence and we enjoy the wins."
The Bucks have lost four straight at San Antonio since a 101-91 win on Dec.
23, 2001.
The Spurs won for the sixth time in seven games on Saturday, 112-77 at New
Orleans. Parker scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting as San Antonio shot a
season-high 62.9 percent and made 12-of-16 3-pointers to bounce back from a loss
the previous night to Houston.
"When the ball is moving and the guys are making the open shots it makes
everything else seem like a cinch," Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. "It's great
to have nights like this, especially after the night we had last night. We were
basically the exact opposite of last night."
San Antonio is allowing 90.6 points per game -- second-best in the NBA -- and
has been even better over the last seven games, yielding an average of 87.1.
Updated on Monday, Dec 25, 2006 6:26 pm, EST
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