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Bucks crush Bobcats

Apr 2, 2013 - 4:09 AM Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Monta Ellis notched 19 points, 14 assists and six steals as the Milwaukee Bucks routed the Charlotte Bobcats, 131-102, on Monday night at the Bradley Center.

"His intensity level was extremely high," said Bucks coach Jim Boylan about Ellis. "He's playing as hard as he can play and he's doing a whole bunch of things at both ends of the floor."

Larry Sanders paced the Bucks with a career-best 24 points while grabbing 13 rebounds, six of which came at the offensive end. Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings netted 22 and 19 points, respectively, while J.J. Redick chipped in 20 off the bench.

Milwaukee, which reached 131 points for the first time since Nov. 29, 1986, remains in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and trails the Boston Celtics by 1 1/2 games.

Kemba Walker poured in a game-high 27 points on 8-of-11 from the floor and 11- of-13 from the free throw line for the Charlotte, which has dropped five of its last six contests. Tyrus Thomas added 13 points off the bench in his first action since February 6 while Gerald Henderson scored 17 points.

Milwaukee gained some separation in the second quarter after a back-and-forth opening 12 minutes despite 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting from Ben Gordon. The Bucks connected on 4-of-5 from behind the arc as they scored 40 second-quarter points to take a 69-60 halftime advantage.

Jennings opened the second half with a four-point play and the rout was on, as Milwaukee turned up the intensity defensively and held Charlotte to just 38.9 percent shooting in the third period.

Mike Dunleavy's layup sparked an 11-0 Milwaukee run midway through the fourth stanza to seal the deal.

The bucks took 100 shots tonight, 27 more than the Bobcats managed. Boylan was encouraged by the offensive output.

"We want to get out and try to score, get out in the open floor and play an open kind of game."

Game Notes

The Bucks were without starting forward Luc Mbah a Moute, who was a late scratch due to an undisclosed illness ... Milwaukee ended with 32 assists ... The Bucks outrebounded Charlotte, 45-32 ... Jeff Taylor got the start for the Bobcats in place of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who missed the action due to personal reasons ... Dunleavy had 15 points.