Magic rally to send Bucks to fourth straight loss

November 29, 1:51 AMMilwaukee Bucks ExaminerKris Gilson

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Howard had a monster double-double in the Magic win. (Getty Images)

The Orlando Magic, thanks to a 3rd quarter in which they outscored the Milwaukee Bucks 26-16, erased a nine point halftime deficit to send the Bucks to their fourth consecutive loss.

The Bucks were up 56-47 at half and built their lead to 15 in the 3rd quarter, but just couldn't stop Dwight Howard and Vince Carter down the stretch.

Howard had 25 points and 20 rebounds for the 13-4 Magic, who have won seven of eight.  Carter, who has become the focal point of Orlando's's offense, also had 25 points with 6 rebounds.

The Bucks had no answer for Howard on either end of the court, as the absence of Andrew Bogut (leg strain) really hurt Saturday night.  Veteran Kurt Thomas did an admirable job attempting to guard the imposing Howard while Dan Gadzuric, Hakim Warrick, and Ersan Ilyasova all gave it a go with no luck.

"It's really hard to guard him; he's one of the best players in the NBA," Ilyasova said.

The Bucks had a chance to take the lead with 35 seconds left, but Ilyasova's three point attempt fell short.  Luke Ridnour grabbed the rebound, but his shot attempt to tie the game was no good as well.

"It was a clear shot, and I thought I should shoot this one," Ilyasova said. "I missed. That's basketball, you know. One of the best things we did tonight was compete."

Ilyasova and Ridnour led the Bucks with 20 points a piece.  Ilyasova added 16 rebounds, with 7 coming on the offensive end.  He's been fantastic since sliding into the starting lineup, scoring double digits in five of the six games since filling in for the injured Bogut.

Ridnour continued his strong play with 6 assists and 2 steals off the bench.  He was 9-15 from the floor.

Brandon Jennings had another quiet night, scoring 18 points on just 7-22 shooting.  He did not commit a turnover, and has had more turnovers than assists in just one game this season, November 7th's win against the Knicks.  His shots just aren't falling right now, and he hasn't shot 50% from the floor since last Friday's home win over Charlotte.

The Bucks clearly looked worn down in the second half after playing the first game of a back-to-back Friday night in Oklahoma City.  The team allowed Orlando to shoot 50.6% from the floor and were outrebounded 50-44.

"We got fatigued, you could see it," said Bucks coach Scott Skiles. "We had several breakdowns in a row.  They sort of just walked us down. We just ran out of gas for awhile and lost our focus."

Milwaukee had just 6 turnovers Saturday night and made 11 of 19 three point attempts, 10 of them coming in the first half.

Hakim Warrick was solid again, scoring 16 points on 6-12 shooting.

Jason Williams and Rashard Lewis were the only other Magic players to score in double digits, with 12 and 14 points, respectively.

Michael Redd did not play for the Bucks.  He sat out with knee soreness.  Luc Mbah a Moute has yet to play after suffering a foot strain November 16th against the Mavericks.

Milwaukee (8-7) will host the Chicago Bulls (6-8) on Monday night.  The Bucks will be looking to get revenge for a 83-81 loss earlier in the season in Chicago.  The Bulls are also losers of four straight, so something has to give.  Chicago has scored 100 points just once this year, a 101-87 win over Sacramento on November 17th.  Gametime Monday night is 7:00pm.

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