Bucks 131, Bobcats 102
MILWAUKEE -- Larry Sanders surpassed his career high for the second straight game, finishing with 24 points in the Bucks' 131-102 victory over Charlotte Monday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Sanders also set a career high by making 10 field goals while pulling down 13 rebounds. Monta Ellis had 19 points and 14 assists, while Brandon Jennings also scored 19 points, adding six assists.
Kemba Walker scored 27 points and Gerald Henderson added 17 to lead the Bobcats, who shot 50.7 percent from the field but turned the ball over 21 times, which Milwaukee converted into 31 points.
Up by four, 29-25, through one quarter, Milwaukee created some separation late in the second, outscoring Charlotte 17-8 over the final 3:44 to take a 69-60 lead into halftime. The Bobcats shot 62.9 percent in the half (22 of 35) but their nine turnovers led to nine points.
Milwaukee kept the pressure on to start the third, and enjoyed its biggest lead to that point when Ersan Ilyasova's 3-pointer made it a 76-63 contest with 9:41 to play in the quarter. Six straight from the Bobcats, including a pair of Henderson free throws with 7:58 left, cut the Bucks' lead to six.
J.J. Redick hit a 3 from the left side to put Milwaukee back up by 11 with 2:40 remaining in the period, and the Bucks were up by 16, 100-86, at the quarter's end.
Redick made it a 20-point game on a long jumper with 9:28 remaining and Charlotte never got closer than 16 and lost for the third straight and fifth time in six games.
NOTES: Illness kept Milwaukee's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute out of the lineup Monday. He'd played three straight after missing eight with a toe injury. ... The Bobcats had averaged 100.3 points per game over their previous seven games, including a season-high 119 against Washington on March 18. Charlotte averaged 92.7 points per game through their previous 66. ... Heading into Monday's game, Walker was averaging 22.2 points while shooting 43.3 percent from the field in his last five games ... Bucks coach Jim Boylan is confident that reserve Mike Dunleavy will regain his form after he averaged just 7.4 points per game in 16 March contests. "Mike's shooting numbers have been down a little bit the last couple games but he's going to find his rhythm," Boylan said. "I have all the confidence that he's going to do that. He'll find his way back to his normal percentage, which is a 40 percent 3-point shooter and mid-to-high 40s overall. He just has to keep shooting; just get out there and shoot his shots."
