Truman Reed reviews the first 33 games and takes a look at the seven signature victories. (NBAE / Getty Images)

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January 1, 2009

As the Milwaukee Bucks bid farewell to 2008, they are emerging as one of the National Basketball Association's most-improved teams.

The Truman Reed Index presents this review of seven victories that highlighted the first 33 games of the team's 2008-09 campaign:

Dec. 30

Milwaukee Bucks 100, San Antonio Spurs 98

The Bucks overcame a four-point deficit with 6 minutes, 33 seconds to play to complete a season sweep of the Spurs.

Milwaukee had defeated San Antonio at the Bradley Center on Nov. 12, 82-78, with Spurs stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili out of the lineup.

Both players were back on the court for the rematch, and Parker delivered a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists.

But the Bucks got double-doubles from both Michael Redd (25 points, 10 rebounds) and Andrew Bogut (20 points, 14 rebounds), and point guard Luke Ridnour played Parker toe-to-toe, totaling a season-high 21 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Charlie Bell returned to the lineup after spending the team's Dec. 20 loss to Detroit on the inactive list with a sore right knee . Bell's 3-pointer from the corner with 21 seconds left in the second quarter lifted the Bucks to a 51-49 halftime lead, and he finished 5-of-7 from the field and scored 11 points in 26 minutes of action.

The Bucks won for the sixth time in eight outings and matched their road victory total of 2007-08 with their seventh win away from the BC this season. They snapped a five-game San Antonio winning streak in the process.

Dec. 23

Milwaukee Bucks 94, Utah Jazz 86

The Bucks sank just one of 16 3-point field-goal attempts and shot only 38.8 percent from the field against a Utah team competing without star power forward Carlos Boozer and top two centers Mehmet Okur and Jarron Collins.

They allowed the Jazz to narrow a 19-point deficit to three points at 88-85 in the closing minutes.

But they overcame all of that and won the game, sealing the deal on a Michael Redd jump shot with 1 minute, 12 seconds to play.

Coach Scott Skiles and several Bucks players commented afterward that this was a game the team most likely would have lost several weeks earlier. They credited the victory to the team's perseverance and its defense - Milwaukee allowed Utah to shoot just 38 percent, forced 24 turnovers and scored 17 points off 12 Jazz turnovers in the first half alone.

Redd scored a game-high 27 points for the Bucks. Luke Ridnour added 11 points, 11 assists and six steals, and Ramon Sessions and Charlie Villanueva scored a combined 23 points off the bench.

The victory was Milwaukee's fifth in a row at home and its fourth in 17 outings this season against teams with winning records. It halted an eight-game losing streak against the Jazz.

Dec. 19

Milwaukee Bucks 105, New York Knicks 81

The Knicks, like the Bucks, have exhibited marked improvement over last season. They have already won more than half as many games as they won during the entire 2007-08 campaign.

So this was a statement win for the Bucks. Playing their third consecutive road game, they not only defeated New York at Madison Square Garden for the second time this season and for the third time overall, but enjoyed their widest victory margin of their three wins over the Knicks.

Michael Redd scored 12 of his game-high 21 points during a 25-7 Milwaukee run than spanned the second and third quarters. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Richard Jefferson added 16 points apiece for the Bucks.

The win pulled Milwaukee into an 88-88 tie with New York in the teams' 41-year-old all-time series.

Dec. 15

Milwaukee Bucks 98, Miami Heat 83

With the return of former Marquette University star Dwyane Wade, who missed 31 games last season, the Heat are performing a turnaround that could rank among the most dramatic in National Basketball Association annals.

After losing a league-high 67 games last season, the Heat entered January of this year at 17-13.

But on this night, the Bucks cooled off both Miami and Wade, who entered the contest leading the league in scoring. With rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute guarding him for the majority of the game, Wade shot 5-of-16 from the field.

Milwaukee, meanwhile, got 16 first-quarter points from Michael Redd, who knocked down four 3-point goals during the opening 8 minutes to help stake his team to a 27-15 lead.

Redd finished with a game-high 21 points. Andrew Bogut added a double-double with 20 points and 11 boards, and Charlie Villanueva pitched in 20 points off the bench as Milwaukee posted its first of two road wins in a three-game series.


Dec. 13

Milwaukee Bucks 121, Indiana Pacers 103

The Bucks finished seven games deep in the Central Division basement last season. One gauge of their progress has been their success against divisional rivals, and this win was their most convicing over a Central foe this season.

Michael Redd scored 27 points, and Andrew Bogut contributed 20 points and a season-best 20 rebounds for Milwaukee, which squandered a 21-point, second-half lead on its home court, then rattled off the final 19 points of the game to turn back the Pacers.

Charlie Villanueva matched his season high with 26 points -- 24 of which came in the opening half - as the Bucks slammed the brakes on a three-game losing streak.

Thanks in part once again to rookie defensive stalwart Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Milwaukee cooled off another of the NBA's hottest hands. Pacers forward Danny Granger, who had poured in a career-high 42 points the night before, managed just 14 against the Bucks, who also forced 19 Indiana turnovers.

Dec. 3

Milwaukee Bucks 97, Chicago Bulls 90

A large contingent of Bulls fans made the trek up I-94 for the second meeting of the season between the two border rivals, still abuzz over the addition of Chicago native Derrick Rose, the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, to the Bulls lineup.

Like the Bucks, the Bulls are determined to climb the NBA ladder after a 2007-08 season that saw them finish just one notch above Milwaukee, in fourth place in the Central Division with a 33-49 ledger.

But the Bucks made another statement, avenging a season-opening 108-95 loss in Chicago with a 97-90 win in Milwaukee.

With Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut hampered by injuries, Charlie Villanueva delivered a game-high 23 points for Milwaukee. Eleven of those points came during the fourth quarter, when Milwaukee took charge with a 13-3 run.

Dan Gadzuric stepped up with his biggest performance of the season in relief of Bogut, who left the game after being struck in the face in the third quarter. Gadzuric achieved a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds and blocked three shots.

Ben Gordon scored Chicago's final 15 points of the third quarter before Bucks Head Coach Scott Skiles made a defensive switch, putting Luc Richard Mbah a Moute on the Bulls sharpshooter. Mbah a Moute frustrated Gordon into forcing up two errant shots, Gordon left the game, and he never regained his touch. 
 
Richard Jefferson poured in 21 points for the Bucks. Redd totaled 13, and Luke Ridnour came up with 12 points and 10 assists.

Nov. 12

Milwaukee Bucks 82, San Antonio Spurs 78

The first of Milwaukee's two wins over San Antonio this season came with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli shelved by injuries, but it represented a major step nonetheless.

The Bucks, who trailed by as many as 13 points, unleashed a 21-2 run that began in the third quarter and carried into the fourth. Their lead reached 10 points at 73-63 before Tim Duncan and the Spurs charged back in the closing minutes to narrow the gap to two.

Richard Jefferson tallied 16 of his team-high 19 points during Milwaukee's big second half, and Andrew Bogut ripped down 17 rebounds in leading the Bucks to their third home win of the season. They were playing their fifth straight game without Michael Redd, sidelined by a right ankle sprain.

The Bucks also got 13 points from Ramon Sessions and 11 from Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who was making his first career start.