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Patterson leads Bucks past Grizzlies

Dec 9, 2006 - 4:34 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Ruben Patterson, Michael Redd and the Milwaukee Bucks finally cleared the hurdle of winning two games in a row.

Patterson scored a season-high 30 points and Redd added 25 - including four 3-pointers - as the Bucks took control early and cruised to a 100-94 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Milwaukee came in having alternated wins and losses in its last seven contests.

"I said to my teammates before the game, winning is fun. When we win, everything is better," Redd said. "Tonight, we had an opportunity to win two in a row and we did. I was very proud of how we played tonight. It's a confidence builder. Hopefully, we can get three in a row. It's all about getting on winning streaks and getting on a roll in this league."

On Friday, the Bucks found some consistency in Patterson, whose impact usually comes on defense. After scoring a season-high 26 points in Wednesday's 102-94 win over Portland, Patterson netted nine points in the first quarter, helping the Bucks to 28-16 lead.

"That's what I've been doing," Patterson said. "Everyone knows me as a defensive player ... but I can definitely score the ball."

"He's playing terrific, outstanding basketball," Redd said. "He's taking advantage of bigger (power forwards) and getting past them and taking it to the rim. He's playing very aggressively defensively as well. He's determined to get the ball, determined to get to a spot, determined at everything."

Redd scored 10 points in a decisive 24-6 run in the third quarter that gave Milwaukee a commanding 79-52 advantage with 1:15 left.

Playing for the first time since suffering an elbow injury November 14, Milwaukee forward Charlie Villanueva scored eight points in 17 minutes off the bench.

"I was like a kid in the candy shop," Villanueva explained. "I was excited to be out there. I sat out about three weeks and that's a long time for me to not play basketball. This has been my first big injury. I felt really good out there."

Hakim Warrick, who was ejected late in the fourth quarter after picking up his second technical foul, collected career highs of 31 points and 13 rebounds and Brian Cardinal added 11 points for the Grizzlies, who committed 20 turnovers.

"Just being aggressive, getting to the line and getting easy buckets," said Warrick about his impressive outing. "My teammates did a good job of finding me and getting me going. It was just one of those nights.

Memphis scored the game's last 13 points to make the final score more respectable.