Bucks beat Lakers to stay perfect at home

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin: Michael Redd scored 26 points and China's Yi Jianlian added 12 points and six rebounds as Milwaukee remained unbeaten at home with a 110-103 triumph on Wednesday over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Mo Williams added 18 points and nine assists while Charlie Villanueva added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Bucks, now 5-0 in National Basketball Association home games and 6-4 overall.

The Bucks trail Central Division-leader Detroit by only half a game.

Redd powered Milwaukee through the first three quarters even as the Lakers led after every quarter until the Bucks outscored them 35-23 in the final 12 minutes, snapping a four-game win streak for the California club.

Australia's Andrew Bogut scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter after foul trouble kept him off the bench only six minutes into the first half. Bogut had suffered food poisoning in Cleveland the night before.

"I just started to get my wind back in the fourth quarter," Bogut said. "I wasn't feeling well at all."

Lakers star guard Kobe Bryant, seeking his third NBA scoring crown in a row, scored a game-high 27 points while Andrew Bynum added 16 points and 13 rebounds in a losing cause, in part because Redd outdueled Bryant man-to-man.

"I was just trying to flow and not get too caught up in it," Redd said. "He challenged me. He has a tenacity to want to be the best at both ends of the floor."

In Houston, Yao Ming was spectacular and Tracy McGrady was back but the Houston Rockets suffered their fifth loss in a row, falling 100-94 to the Dallas Mavericks.

Chinese 7-foot-6 star center Yao contributed game highs of 30 points and 15 rebounds and McGrady had 15 points after missing two starts with an elbow injury, but it was not enough to deny Dallas a fifth consecutive triumph.

"We made mistakes again," Yao said. "They had a small lineup and we didn't play enough good basketball to win the game. In the last minute and 40 seconds we turned the ball over."

Devin Harris scored 22 points, 10 of them in the fourth quarter, while Josh Howard added 20 points and German star Dirk Nowitzki contributed 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Mavericks, who improved to 9-2.

McGrady added 12 assists and seven rebounds after sitting out for a week, but 17 turnovers proved too much for the Rockets to overcome.

"Throughout the game I lost feeling in two of my fingers," McGrady said. "That was bothering me all night, but I still played."

Yao Ming sank a free throw after receiving a flagrant foul from Harris to stake the Rockets to a 91-86 lead with 99 seconds remaining.

But Harris assisted on a Jerry Stackhouse three-pointer from the right corner and sped past Yao, took a foul and finished off a three-point play that gave Dallas the lead for the first time at 92-91 with 34 seconds remaining.

In San Antonio, French guard Tony Parker scored a season-high 32 points and Tim Duncan added 20 points and 16 rebounds to power the San Antonio Spurs past Orlando 128-110.

Defending NBA champion San Antonio, unbeaten at home this season, rallied to snap the Magic's run as the lone remaining NBA team undefeated away from home after a 7-0 road start.

Orlando center Dwight Howard scored 19 of his 34 points and grabbed 12 of his 16 rebounds in the first half to spark the Magic to a 64-59 halftime edge. For the game, Howard connected on 14-of-19 shots from the field.

In Minnesota,LeBron James poured in 45 points and added eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past Minnesota 97-86.

AFP

(China Daily 11/23/2007 page23)