Allen scored 27 points and Thomas matched a season high with 25 as the Milwaukee Bucks got hot early and rolled to a 105-86 victory over the Washington Wizards, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Starting again for injured All-Star forward Glenn Robinson, Thomas scored 16 points in the first quarter as the Bucks set an early tone, taking a 28-19 lead. Milwaukee shot 54 percent (12-of-22) in the period.
Thomas scored eight of Milwaukee's first 10 points and made consecutive 3-pointers when Jordan was taken out with 3:23 left in the period.
 Tim Thomas tied a season-high with 25 against Washington. Gary Dineen NBAE/Getty Images |
"I know that I can start for a lot of teams in this league," Thomas said. "I know my role on this team. Sometimes you have to sacrifice individually to have team success.
"It don't matter to me. I've been blessed with good talent, and it don't matter when I play or where I play. I just try to be aggressive with whatever minutes I get."
Allen picked up where Thomas left off in the second period, scoring eight consecutive Milwaukee points in 72 seconds that turned a 39-26 lead into a 47-30 advantage.
After Allen missed two layups and a 3-pointer, he made one from the right corner and Thomas followed a steal from Jordan with a 3-pointer from the left side. That gave Milwaukee its first 20-point lead at 54-34 with three minutes left.
"Tonight, I was better (than Jordan)," Thomas said. "But I wish it had happened when he was in his prime. It's still a great moment for me. Hopefully someone in my family was rolling a tape on this game so I can show my kids someday."
In the first half, the Bucks shot 52 percent (25-of-47), including an amazing 6-of-7 from the perimeter, and took a 60-42 lead into intermission.
"When they shoot the ball like that, they're not going to lose," Wizards coach Doug Collins said. "I think they are the best team in the Eastern Conference. If they can get healthy, and with the way their schedule plays out, I expect they'll have the best record in the East."
"It's hard to see red when we're wearing blue," Jordan said. "I think it was more, we were a game behind them and they wanted to make a statement that we're not in their class."
Jordan scored 22 points on 10-of-24 shooting. However, the combination of forwards Thomas, Darvin Ham and Anthony Mason constantly kept him away from the basket.
Jordan had two points in the first quarter and 14 in the second. But he committed a season-high six turnovers. He had turned the ball over five times on four different occasions, including last Friday's 89-83 win over Chicago.
While Jordan led the Wizards in scoring for the 21st time, his supporting cast -- which has been key in Washington's recent success -- did little.
Chris Whitney was the only other starter to reach double figures with 12 points. Starters Popeye Jones, Jahidi White and Hubert Davis totaled 17 points on 7-of-24 shooting.
According to Allen, Milwaukee's strategy was to contain the role players.
"Our game plan coming in was to not let one of their role players get going," Allen said. "Michael knows how to create his own shots and that is why he's hard to defend."