Bucks 112 - 98 Wizards
Final
  for this game

Bucks take down Wizards

Apr 3, 2012 - 4:05 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Ersan Ilyasova finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks took a much-needed step towards the playoffs with a 112-98 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday.

Brandon Jennings led a balanced Milwaukee offensive attack with 19 points, while Monta Ellis and Mike Dunleavy scored 17 apiece in the win, the Bucks' third and their last four tries.

The victory moved them two games behind idle New York for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Jordan Crawford poured in a game-high 23 points and Kevin Seraphin netted 15 for the Wizards, but they lost their second straight and seventh in eight games.

"We didn't have the bounce in our legs tonight like we had in the past couple of games," said Washington head coach Randy Wittman. "They made a big run on us in the third and that took the wind out of our game."

The Wizards scored 11 of the game's first 17 points but their lead was short- lived, as Ellis knocked down a pair of free-throws to give the visitors an 18-17 edge they did not relinquish.

The Bucks held a double-digit advantage throughout most of the second quarter, but Crawford's three-pointer with 40.8 seconds left trimmed the Wizards' deficit to 55-47 at halftime.

They almost capitalized on that momentum at the start of the third, scoring the first six points to make it a two-point game.

But Jennings responded with two baskets and a pair from the charity stripe around a jumper from Drew Gooden, part of a 10-0 spurt that Washington failed to answer.

"I just started shooting more aggressive," said Jennings. "In the first half I was trying to find guys, but the third I just put it in my own hands."

Mikwaukee led by as many as 23 in the final stanza.

Game Notes

Milwaukee will host the Knicks on April 11...The Bucks have won four straight and seven of eight meetings with the Wizards, including all three this season...Washington's Trevor Booker and Nene both sat with plantar fasciitis, while the Bucks' Carlos Delfino and Beno Udrih did not play with right groin and left hand injuries, respectively.






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