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Bucks stay undefeated at home, down Hawks

Nov 18, 2007 - 6:16 AM By Dave Cotey PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Hawks are not fond of going north. The Milwaukee Bucks would just as soon not leave.

Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd each scored 21 points as the Milwaukee Bucks posted a 105-96 victory on Saturday.

Charlie Villanueva added 17 points off the bench as the Bucks won at the Bradley Center to improve to 15-2 against the Hawks in Milwaukee dating to the 1998-99 season. Milwaukee also improved to 4-0 at home for the first time since the 1999-00 season.

"We shot 52 percent from the field, so I guess (being) home does some good things because we can't shoot the ball too well on the road," Redd said. "We've got to translate that to the road. The same intensity, the same passion we play with at home, we have to play with that on the road."

Bogut scored six consecutive points late in the second quarter as the Bucks began to pull away from the Hawks with a 17-12 run to end the first half leading 57-46.

Prior to Bogut's exploits, Villanueva scored eight quick points off the bench when rookie Yi Jianlian was on the bench with early foul trouble.

"Charlie, I commend him," Bogut said. "It's been a tough adjustment from going to a starter to a bench player. He's starting to learn how to come off the bench and provide a spark."

The Bucks led by as many as 15 in the third quarter, but Atlanta went on a run to close the third quarter, highlighted by Al Horford's follow-up dunk and Josh Childress' 3-pointer that beat the third-quarter buzzer to trim Milwaukee's lead to 76-70.

Josh Smith then scored his team's first eight points of the fourth quarter and blocked Mo Williams' layup to spark an Atlanta run, but the Hawks were never able to claim the lead.

"You can't spot at team that kind of lead," Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. "We put ourselves in position, but we bury ourselves at the beginning. It's too much of an uphill climb."

After Joe Johnson missed a wide-open 3-pointer and Marvin Williams was called for an offensive foul, Bobby Simmons drilled a 3-pointer, his second of the quarter, with 7:40 remaining to give Milwaukee an 86-79 lead.

Childress also missed an open shot from the arc, and Simmons again made the Hawks pay with a baseline jumper with 6:32 remaining as Milwaukee went up, 88-81.

"The bench was terrific tonight," Redd said. "They kept the energy up and played together. They were out there for an extended time, too."

Atlanta made one final push late to get to within 97-96 with 2:15 remaining on Smith's layup, but the Hawks missed their final six shots while Redd hit a jumper, Bogut hit a layup and Williams closed the game with four straight points to account for the final margin.

"We were trying to find something in the paint, but they collapsed on us," Smith said. "Everybody that drove, they sucked in and made us shoot outside jump shots."

While the Hawks suffered through their ill-timed slump, Redd hit a jumper, Bogut hit a layup and Williams closed the game with four straight points to account for the final margin.

"We lost the (momentum) a couple different times, but we hung in there," Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said.

Smith returned from a one-game layoff due to a strained quadriceps to lead the Hawks with 38 points. Johnson added 14 and Tyronn Lue 10 for Atlanta, which remained winless on the road in four tries.

"There were open holes in the zone, and I tried to take advantage of it," Smith said. "I was just driving the ball. My main focus was to try to get fouled and get in the bonus and try to get back in the game from the free-throw line."