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Bucks edge Warriors for third straight win

Nov 14, 2010 - 5:22 AM Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - John Salmons finished with a game-high 26 points and Brandon Jennings added 19 points and 11 rebounds, as the Milwaukee Bucks topped the Golden State Warriors, 79-72, at the Bradley Center.

Drew Gooden added 16 points and 10 rebounds while Andrew Bogut had eight points and 17 boards for the Bucks, who have won three straight and four of their last five.

Monta Ellis led Golden State with 24 points and eight assists, but fellow guard Stephen Curry made just 3-of-14 shots and ended with seven points. Reggie Williams added 11 points and five rebounds in a reserve role for the Warriors, who ended their road trip with a 2-3 record.

"Salmons and Luc Mbah a Moute both did a good job on [Ellis]," said Bulls head coach Scott Skiles. "They at least made it difficult for him to get open looks. We tried to make him play in a crowd and overall we did a good job of that."

Ellis scored 11 points in the first quarter, but the 10 from Salmons and seven from Jennings were enough to give the Bucks a 24-16 lead after 12 minutes of play.

Milwaukee led by as many as 18 in the second quarter before taking a 43-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Golden State went nearly 3 1/2 minutes without scoring to start the third, and a Salmons jumper early extended the Milwaukee advantage to 48-30. The margin remained in double digits throughout the period, and it was 66-51 heading to the fourth after Salmons drained a three in the final seconds.

The Warriors, despite the deficit, made a late charge, pulling to within 75-72 on the heels of a 7-0 run that ended on Jeff Adrien's hook shot with 1 1/2 minutes left.

Salmons responded with a jumper inside a minute to play to make it a two- possession game, and Bogut blocked Vladimir Radmonovic's three-point attempt on the ensuing Warriors possession.

Mbah a Moute pulled down an offensive board on Milwaukee's next touch and was fouled by Ellis, eventually making a pair of free throws with just over 20 seconds to go to seal the win.

"We knew it was going to be a struggle defensively," Warriors head coach Keith Smart said. "The way [the Bucks] play and pack the paint we had to make some open shots and a lot of our guys didn't make those open shots. Overall I thought the way we started wasnt what we needed but I thought our guys competed and played."

Game Notes

Golden State was without the services of David Lee, who had surgery on Friday to remove an infection to a cut on his left elbow...Milwaukee shot 17-of-21 from the free throw line, while Golden State hit only 6-of-10...Milwaukee shot 28-of-83, 33.7 percent, from the field; Golden State hit on 28-of-82 attempts for 34.1 percent.