• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Balanced Bucks race past Bobcats

Mar 24, 2012 - 3:13 AM Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Luc Mbah a Moute scored 20 points off the bench to lead six Milwaukee players in double figures and the Bucks cruised to a 112-92 victory over the Bobcats on Friday.

"We wanted to come out with a lot of energy tonight," said Mbah a Moute. "When we move and share the ball, we're a good team. We imparted our will out there and were able to get an easy win."

Drew Gooden tallied a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Ersan Ilyasova and Mike Dunleavy added 15 points apiece and Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings scored 13 and 12, respectively.

Milwaukee bounced back from Thursday's home loss to Boston, which snapped a six-game winning streak for the Bucks.

Gerald Henderson led all scorers with 29 points, Kemba Walker netted 13 points and handed out seven assists, and Derrick Brown had 13 points in the loss. The Bobcats have dropped four of their last five.

The Bucks held a 72-34 advantage in points in the paint and outrebounded the Bobcats, 47-37, to complete the road victory.

"You have to be tough-minded as well as physically tough and if you're not, those kinds of things happen," remarked Bobcats head coach Paul Silas after the loss. "We have to learn and we have to get better. That's just where we are right now."

After trailing 63-49 early in the third, a 7-0 run found the home team within seven, 63-56, but Milwaukee countered with eight straight to restore the lead to double digits with 5:20 left in the third.

Henderson finished with 13 points in the quarter, but the Bobcats were unable to cut into the deficit as they trailed, 83-68, heading into the final frame.

Beno Udrih's layup pressed the margin to 20 early in the fourth and the visitors cruised the rest of the way for the easy victory.

Charlotte led by eight at the midway point of the first quarter, but back-to- back jumpers from Jennings sparked a 13-4 run to put Milwaukee on top, 21-20, after one.

The Bucks opened the second stanza with the first six points and 10 of the first 12 to take a 31-22 lead just over four minutes into the quarter.

The lead teetered around nine for much of the frame before Milwaukee scored six of the final eight points of the half to take a 52-40 lead into the locker room.

Game Notes

Milwaukee will wrap up its stretch of three games in three nights on Saturday in Indiana, while the Bobcats travel to New Jersey to face the Nets on Saturday...With the win, Milwaukee moved within a 1/2 game of New York for the final playoff spot in the East as the Knicks fell to the Raptors on Friday...The Bucks had 31 assists compared to just 19 for the Bobcats.