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Bogut powers Bucks over Rockets

Dec 11, 2010 - 9:02 AM Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Andrew Bogut's season-high 22 rebounds went along with 24 points and five blocks as Milwaukee edged Houston, 97-91, at the Bradley Center.

Brandon Jennings scored 19 and John Salmons added 17, six rebounds and five assists for the Bucks, who completed a 3-1 homestand. Ersan Ilyasova and Corey Maggette and added 13 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench for Milwaukee. The Bucks beat the Rockets for just the second time in the last 12 meetings.

"Our defense is one of the top defenses in the league right now," Jennings said. "That's what's actually keeping us in these games, the close ones that we've lost. Fortunately we've been able to get the last two."

Kevin Martin scored 23 and Courtney Lee added 16 in a reserve role for the Rockets, who have lost two of three. Kyle Lowry added 11, and both Jermaine Taylor and Luis Scola contributed 10 in defeat.

"We didn't defend the ball well enough and their big guy hurt us," said Houston head coach Rick Adelman. "I think we made some real mental mistakes throughout the course of the game again."

Milwaukee was up 79-73 in the opening two minutes of the fourth, and after Bogut added a short layup of a Jennings miss at 4:16 the Bucks' lead was 90-82.

Houston trimmed the lead to five inside the final 1 1/2 minutes, but after Ilyasova connected on three from the line with 35.8 seconds left the Bucks were back up eight, 93-85.

Lowry responded with a three-pointer, and after Jennings made 1-of-2 from the line, Lowry added another deep ball to trim the game to 94-91. Jennings connected on the back end of two free throws, and after Houston's Brad Miller missed a three that would have made it a one-possession game, Milwaukee called a timeout.

Bogut added a layup out of the break with 9.9 ticks remaining to account for the final margin.

The Bucks shot 57.1 percent from the field in the first quarter, en route to an early 27-24 lead after the opening 12 minutes. Milwaukee took a 47-43 advantage into the half after a back-and-forth second quarter.

A Salmons jumper at 5:24 and 1-of-2 from the line 30 seconds later put the Bucks up 63-53. After the teams traded baskets, Lowry made 1-of-2 from the line on the Rockets next possession, as Houston ended the quarter on a 13-5 run to made it a one-possession game, 73-71, entering the fourth.

Game Notes

Houston is 3-10 on the road this season...The Rockets shot 19-of-22 from the line, while Milwaukee was 17-of-25...Milwaukee won the rebounding margin 48-37...The Bucks will now head on a two-game Texas road trip (Dallas then San Antonio).