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Boozer's big night lifts Bulls past Bucks

Nov 25, 2012 - 6:59 AM Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Carlos Boozer dropped in 22 points on 10- of-15 shooting and ripped down 19 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls topped the Milwaukee Bucks, 93-86, on Saturday at Bradley Center.

Richard Hamilton netted 22 points, including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line, while Luol Deng chipped in 14 points and eight boards for the Bulls, who have beaten Milwaukee nine consecutive times. Kirk Hinrich donated 10 points in the victory.

"I thought we had some timely offensive rebounds," Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I thought Kirk did a good job keeping us organized throughout."

Brandon Jennings scored a game-high 23 points and handed out seven assists, but left the game with 23.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter after rolling his left ankle on a drive to the hoop. He remained on the floor for several minutes and needed help off the court.

Monta Ellis added 17 points and six boards while Beno Udrih contributed 12 points for the Bucks, who have lost three straight.

"Almost every time they get up and get into us," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said of Chicago's defense. "It causes us to dribble a little too much. When we're dribbling around we're missing shots. We didn't have our typical ball movement tonight."

The Bucks got out to a quick start as a 16-footer by Ellis gave the home side a 13-7 lead with 7:56 on the first-quarter clock. Chicago responded with six straight points to tie the game at 13.

It remained close for the duration of the session, featuring six lead changes and seven ties. Jennings got the last laugh of the quarter with an easy layup to give Milwaukee a 30-28 advantage after one.

Ellis drained a 15-footer early in the second quarter to give the Bucks a 37-30 lead, but five straight points from the Bulls quickly made it a two- point game with 7:10 on the second-stanza clock.

It was Ellis again who laid home a pair with 4:34 left to make it a five-point Bucks lead, but the Bulls stayed in it and a pair of free throws by Taj Gibson with 33.9 left sent the game into the halftime break knotted at 52-52.

The third stanza was back and forth all the way as there were six ties and four lead changes. Neither side led by more than four, but the Bulls scored the final three points of the quarter to lead 72-69 heading into the final 12 minutes.

Ellis buried a 16-foot jump shot with 5:22 to play which tied the game at 81-81, but Nate Robinson answered with a 17-footer on the Bulls next touch that gave the visitors a lead which they would not relinquish.

Mike Dunleavy Jr. floated home a layup with 1:59 left to pull the Bucks within 87-85, but a dunk by Boozer and free throws from Hamilton and Joakim Noah down the stretch iced it for Chicago.

Game Notes

The Bulls have won five straight at Bradley Center for the first time since a six-game run from 1995-96 to 1997-98 ... The Bulls improved to 13-4 against Milwaukee since Skiles was named the Bucks' head coach prior to the 2008-09 season ... Chicago shot just 39 percent from the floor and 4-of-16 from beyond the arc, but excelled from the foul line, hitting 25-of-26 attempts ... Milwaukee shot 43.2 percent overall.