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Jamison, Wizards pound lowly Bucks into submission

Jan 5, 2008 - 4:51 AM By Dave Cotey PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- The Washington Wizards continue to survive without their star. The Milwaukee Bucks might not be as fortunate.

Antawn Jamison scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half and Antonio Daniels added 14 as the Wizards crushed the Bucks, 101-77, on Friday night.

Washington, which shot 55 percent (41-of-74) from the field, improved to 13-10 without Gilbert Arenas, who has been sidelined since late November with a knee injury.

The Wizards relied on Jamison in the first half and took a 52-31 lead at the break. Caron Butler chipped in with 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Wizards, who inched closer to .500 on the road (7-8).

"Holding them to one shot, not letting them get offensive rebounds - those are the things you have to do to win on the road," Jamison said. "We were fortunate enough to put a pretty good game together and give ourselves an opportunity to win the game early. When you set the tone in the first quarter, it makes the rest of the game easy."

Meanwhile, the Bucks were without guard Michael Redd, who sat out with a left thigh bruise. Redd had not missed a game this season prior to Friday and is averaging a team-high 23.4 points.

Milwaukee struggled out of the gates without him. It scored just 10 points in the first quarter - the fewest in any quarter this season - and missed all seven of its 3-point attempts.

"We really defended well, especially in the paint," Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. "When you protect your paint and at the rim, good things happen, and we caught them on a night without Michael Redd. That was a bit of a shock to them."

The 31 first-half points were a season low in any half this season for the Bucks, who have now lost five of their last six games.

"I'd like to believe that the situation could have been a lot better (playing) without Michael Redd," Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We certainly don't want to rely on that. In the NBA, it's very common to have players out, and you'd like to think other guys are going to step up to the occasion and fill in for you."

The Wizards went on three different 6-0 runs in the second quarter and began the second half with a 14-2 outburst en route to their most lopsided win of the season.

"We played with a lot of energy," Butler said. "Every time we got stops, we just got out in transition and made the best of our opportunities."

Charlie Villanueva had 20 points and Mo Williams added 13 to lead the Bucks, who suffered their seventh loss of 20 or more points.

"Right now, we've definitely hit a low level of play, due to a lot of injuries," Bucks rookie Yi Jianlian said. "Right now, you can see it's not smooth. What I saw tonight is not the real Bucks team. We have to come together and unite and get over this loss."