Bucks Win Third Straight GameNBA.com - 5/11/08
94-92Milwaukee, WI - As the final buzzer sounded, Bucks fans left the Bradley Center in a daze of excitement of what they just saw. One of the closest games the Bucks will have all season, and they pulled it out with a win.
It came down to the final second. After Washington came back from a 14-point deficit to cut the lead to 1 many times, this is what it resulted to. Michael Redd missed the second of the two free-throws he had to make it a 3-point lead. Antwan Jamison rebounded the ball, and there was exactly 1.0 second left on the clock. One shot, three possibilities - a miss, game over - a 2, overtime - a 3, the game-winner - so who got the ball and what did he do? Gilbert Arenas! Agent Zero! Who else has made the buzzer-beaters he has throughout his career? He went for the game-winner... but that was anticipated by Luke Ridnour, who got a tiny piece of the ball as it left Agent Zero's hands. As the ball bounced off the front of the rim and the buzzer sounded, the Bucks were relieved: game over; they won.
The game started out with the Bucks on a run. Feeling confident after coming off two wins, and recently adding Marcus Camby to their line-up, the Bucks opened up the game with a pick-and-roll of Redd and Camby, resulting in Camby's first shot and make as a Buck. Camby continued his scoring, going 4-4 in the first quarter, 3 of those field goals open jump-shots. Michael Redd also started the game pretty hot, hitting 2 of his 3 shots against the smaller Juan Dixon, who had to guard him. Redd would take advantage of his size later in the game, but in the first quarter he only had 4 points. Rudy Gay would also be a huge factor, scoring as did Redd, but with more confidence, and he had 8 in the quarter. The Wizards however stayed close, thanks to Caron Butler and Jamison, and the Bucks finished the quarter on top, 29-25.
In the second quarter, Washington kept the Bucks on their heels. Despite conjuring up 10+ point leads throughout the quarter, the Wizards would eventually go on their own run to cut the lead to as close as a tie. This was thanks to Juan Dixon and Nick Young off the bench. Washington's bench points in total was much, much better then the Bucks: 16-2. That's right, the only person to score off the bench for Milwaukee was Fransisco Elson, who made his inside lay-up off a pass from Redd mid-way through the second. In the end, the Bucks went into the half up 57-50.
The low-scoring third quarter saw teams going back-and-forth with either turnovers or points, take your pick. The Wizards, who at the end of the game recorded
20 turnovers, made most of them in the third quarter, as did Milwaukee. Despite this, Michael Redd scored most of his points in this quarter, while being guarded by Juan Dixon and Caron Butler, who picked up his 5th foul near the end of the period. Also, Rudy Gay made some shots, including a three-pointer and a dunk. The Bucks went into the fourth quarter, up 78-69.
Rudy Gay had another spectacular performance today, scoring 26 points on 10-16 shooting, including 3-6 from downtown, along with 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Michael Redd had the game-high 35 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds, on 16-36 shooting, but committed 6 turnovers and missed 0-8 from the three-point line. Newly acquired Marcus Camby went 11-16 from the field, which was 6-7 in the first half, as well as 9 rebounds. Gilbert Arenas, who started the game ice-cold, finished with 27 points and 8 assists. Antwan Jamison and Caron Butler scored 22 and 18, respectively, and Jamison also had 7 rebounds.
Note: Both Michael Redd and Caron Butler came into the fourth quarter with 4+ fouls, but managed to keep themselves from getting fouled out.
Player of the Game
Rudy Gay
26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists
10-16 FG, 3-6 3PT, 2-2 FT
I guess the Memphis trade is a little one-sided, but they counter-offered so I guess they thought they could make something out of Jefferson, who could make a nice side-kick to O.J. Mayo, they get a 2nd round pick and Mbah a Moute's contract expires at the end of the season anyway.
I am pretty sure though that I can get in a game tomorrow and post the game recap vs. the Raptors.
