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Bulls rout Bucks; Sessions sets franchise assist mark

Apr 15, 2008 - 3:19 AM By Nick Berenz PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- It was a record-setting night at the Bradley Center for two teams just playing out the schedule.

Luol Deng scored 32 points and shot a season-high 67 percent from the field en route to a 151-135 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.

Chris Duhon had 22 points and 15 assists and Ben Gordon scored 29 to lead the Bulls' bench which outscored the Bucks' reserves, 76-29.

In the loss, rookie guard Ramon Sessions set a franchise record - and NBA season high - with 24 assists. The record eclipsed Guy Rodgers' 21 assists on October 31, 1968. Sessions scored 20 points to become the first Bucks' player to ever score 20-plus points and have 20-plus assists in a game.

"20-plus and 20-plus, those are Oscar Robertson-type numbers," Sessions said. "I'm just speechless, to break a great record with a great organization, there's nothing more to say."

A night after the team scored 84 points in a loss to the Magic, the Bulls scored a season-high 81 points in the first half. In what has become a lost season for Chicago, the team saw production up and down its lineup with seven players scoring in double figures.

"151, I thought that was a romp," Bulls interim head coach Jim Boylan said. "Early on, it was pretty evident that we were going to get some good shots, and the guys stuck with it."

After a first quarter which saw the Bucks score 45 points more than any other Bulls' opponent all season - Chicago trailed by six. But in the second, the Bulls responded with a season-high 42 points of their own.

"It was like an All-Star game, pretty much no defense being played out there tonight," Duhon said. "It was just one of those types of game where the hoop looked really big."

The hot shooting continued in the second half for the Bulls. Deng scored 16 points in the third, and the Bulls extended their lead to 120-101 at the end of the period.

The Bucks, losers of seven straight, guaranteed themselves a season that will fall short of the 28 victories the team notched a season ago. It was the second game the team has played since announcing the hiring of new general manager John Hammond - former vice president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons.

"Tonight was indicative of the season, we were just terrible," said Milwaukee guard Michael Redd, who finished with 22 points. "The one positive was Ramon, his development over the last 10 games for us has been incredible."

Andrew Bogut finished with 25 points and eight rebounds and Charlie Villanueva returned from a two-game absence due to a strained right calf muscle to score 22 points, including 18 in the first quarter.

"We just didn't have the effort that we needed," Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "They shot almost 100 field goals and made two out of three."