MILWAUKEE — Andrew Bogut and Carlos Delfino each
scored 21 points, Bogut also grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat
the winless New Jersey Nets 99-85 on Wednesday night.
The short-handed Nets have lost 12 straight for their
longest single-season losing streak in more than 19 years. This one was painful
because Chris Douglas-Roberts scored a career-high 31 points and had 10
rebounds, but the Nets blew a 48-41 halftime lead by shooting 9 of 38 in the
second half.
That made it easy for Bogut, Delfino and rookie Brandon
Jennings, who had 19 points and eight assists in his second game since a
55-point night on Saturday.
Milwaukee started the second half on a 15-0 run,
including eight by Jennings, and led by as many as 19 points in the fourth
quarter. The Bucks improved to 4-1 on a six-game homestand that ends Friday.
The Bucks' only real scare came early in the fourth
quarter when Jennings, the 10th pick in this year's draft, ran into a hard
screen and fell awkwardly. He grabbed at his right ankle, but returned after the
timeout.
From there, Jennings, who has double figures in eight of
his first nine games, continued his masterful play, whipping a pass to Delfino
in the corner for a 3 to make it 83-66 as Milwaukee cruised.
The Nets led by as many as 11 in the first half after
Terrence Williams looked like the stud rookie to watch. He scored 16
second-quarter points and finished with 20.
But Jennings, picked one slot ahead of Williams, came
storming back in the third quarter, pestering the Nets with his speed.
He made a nifty steal of Douglas-Roberts after
Douglas-Roberts ran down a loose ball on offense and tried to hand it off to
Rafer Alston.
Jennings darted between the two and was gone with the
ball for an easy dunk that left Nets coach Lawrence Frank calling timeout and
yelling at the officials. Jennings wasn't done, knocking down a 3-pointer
moments later to cap the spurt and give Milwaukee a 56-48 lead.
It's been more misery for the Nets, who last lost at
least 12 in a row in a season when they dropped 14 straight in 1990, according
to STATS LLC research.
New Jersey's next chance for a win comes at home against
the Knicks on Saturday before heading out on a four-game West Coast trip. The
NBA record is 17 straight losses to start a season shared by Miami and the Los
Angeles Clippers.
Notes
The Nets' longest losing streak in a season is 16
from Jan. 5-Feb. 5, 1978. … With the Nets again dressing just eight players,
Frank joked before the game that he went looking for Bango, the Bucks' mascot,
to ask him if he wanted to wear a New Jersey uniform. … Bucks F Luc Richard
Mbah a Moute (left foot sprain) missed the game. He's expected to play Friday
against Charlotte.