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Bucks top Wizards to snap 4-game slide

Mar 8, 2015 - 7:08 AM Milwaukee, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - Khris Middleton scored a career-high 30 points and the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 91-85 win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.

Jerryd Bayless had 13 points and Michael Carter-Williams chipped in 12 points and nine assists for the Bucks, who were coming off an 0-4 road trip.

"It was a huge win for us," said Middleton. "It's a step in the right direction. ... We needed this one here tonight. The crowd definitely helped us."

Paul Pierce scored 14 points to lead the Wizards, who have dropped nine in a row on the road.

After nearly blowing a 35-point lead in a win over Miami on Friday night, the Wizards were never up by more than two against the Bucks -- and that only came in the last six minutes after they overcame a 17-point deficit in the third quarter.

Middleton gave the Bucks the lead for good on a 3-pointer that snapped a tie with 40.8 seconds left. It was part of a 9-2 game-ending run by Milwaukee.

He had 14 of his 30 points in the first quarter as the Bucks led by as much as 12, which was also their lead at halftime.

They were up 17 after Middleton's 3 just over three minutes into the third, but the Wizards shot better than 53 percent in the quarter, using a 16-1 run keyed by four consecutive 3-pointers to get within 61-59.

Pierce made the last two, but the Wizards were unable to tie the score before the end of the quarter.

They were 9-of-28 on 3s in the game and Milwaukee went 10-for-20 from beyond the arc, with Middleton knocking down six of his nine attempts.

"We just didn't defend the 3-point line well," said Pierce. "They shot the 3- ball well, especially Middleton. We have to do a better job of concentrating on (Middleton) and running him off the 3-point line."

John Wall added 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Washington and Garrett Temple also scored 11 off the bench. Marcin Gortat had 10 points and nine rebounds in the loss, which dropped the Wizards to 2-8 in their last 10.

Game Notes

The Bucks retired the No. 10 jersey of forward Bob Dandridge at halftime ... The Wizards had won the last four meetings, including the first two this season ... Washington remains on the road to play Charlotte on Monday ... The Bucks will continue a three-game homestand on Monday against New Orleans.