Bucks-Nets Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Feb 18 2012 9:16PM

The New Jersey Nets are back in the win column following an impressive victory.

Having center Brook Lopez back in the starting lineup should only help the Nets as they try to work their way out of the Atlantic Division cellar.

Lopez will make his season debut Sunday night when host New Jersey tries to snap an eight-game losing streak to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Nets (9-23) raced to a 22-3 lead and stopped a season-high eight-game skid on Saturday with a 97-85 win at Chicago.

Deron Williams scored 29 points for the second straight game and Kris Humphries added 24 and 18 rebounds as New Jersey opened its second set of back-to-back-to-back games this season.

"I'm just happy the streak is over," Williams said.

The Nets, who visit the New York Knicks on Monday, will be happy to have Lopez back in the starting five on Sunday as they try to end a five-game home skid.

New Jersey is tied with Toronto at the bottom of the division standings.

Lopez, the team leader with 20.4 points per game last season, suffered a broken right foot during the preseason. While that injury potentially cost the Nets a chance to trade for Orlando star center Dwight Howard, New Jersey has been eagerly awaiting Lopez's return.

The team is among the worst in the NBA with 39.2 rebounds per game.

Lopez led the Nets with 18.7 points as they dropped all three to Milwaukee last season. He finished with five points in a 115-92 loss in the Bucks' lone visit on Jan. 8.

Milwaukee (12-18) has won four in a row in New Jersey by an average of 23.5 points

The Bucks, though, make the first of two visits to the Garden State in 2011-12 on the heels of their fourth consecutive loss, 94-85 at Orlando on Friday.

"We were still competing at the end, we just didn't make wise plays," coach Scott Skiles said after his team was outscored 22-11 in the final quarter. "You can't just come down the floor and turn it over. We just had a bunch of plays that were difficult to overcome."

The Bucks have had a hard time overcoming leading scorer Brandon Jennings' shooting woes. The third-year point guard is scoring 12.1 points per game - 6.1 less than his season average - on 29.8 percent shooting in the last eight. Milwaukee has won just twice during that stretch.

"I felt like I let my teammates down tonight," Jennings said after missing 16 of 20 shots and finishing with 14 points on Friday. "I was not able to contribute down the stretch."

Jennings scored 16 points with 10 assists the last time these teams met, a Bucks 110-95 victory on March 18. He missed last season's game in New Jersey with a broken foot.

The Bucks could be without forward Drew Gooden for a second straight contest due to a sprained right wrist and sore knee.

If he can't go, rookie Jon Leuer could be in for a long night against Lopez and Humphries, who is averaging 10.5 rebounds and has scored 20 or more points in two straight games for the first time in his career.

Bucks swingman Carlos Delfino hit a career-best eight 3s and finished with a team-high 26 points the last time these teams met.

The Nets' last victory in this series was 99-95 in Milwaukee on March 3, 2009.

Ilyasova has 25-25 night to lead Bucks over Nets

By TOM CANAVAN
Posted Feb 19 2012 11:59PM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) This Linsanity stuff is contagious and spreading from New York.

It was in New Jersey on Sunday night and mutated into `Ersanity,' as in Ersan Ilyasova.

Ilyasova had career highs of 29 points and 25 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 92-85 victory over New Jersey, spoiling the season debut of Nets' center Brook Lopez.

The 25 rebounds tied the NBA single-game high this season set by Orlando's Dwight Howard in an overtime game against San Antonio on Jan 18. It was the first 25-25 game by a Buck since Swen Nater had 30 points and a franchise-record 33 rebounds against Atlanta on Dec. 19, 1976.

"It's Ersanity, man," Bucks backup center Jon Brockman said, referring to a Jeremy Lin-type performance that has made Knicks games a world-wide talking point in recent weeks. "It's Ersanity. He hasn't been doing that every night, but that's a special game."

Brockman, who joined Milwaukee teammates in giving Ilyasova a standing ovation when the 6-foot-10 forward from Turkey fouled out with 2:01 to play, then picked up a final box score off the floor in the Bucks' locker room.

"He should frame this," Brockman said.

The numbers were impressive. Ilyasova was 11 of 23 from the field, including two 3-pointers, and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in just over 36 minutes.

"I feel great, not just for the individual performance, it was a team," Ilyasova said. "It was a great win for us. It's a huge win for us, especially after losing four in a row, We played much better as a team. We shared the ball and everybody put forward a hell of an effort to win the game."

Ilyasova's biggest play came after the Nets cut a 16-point, fourth-quarter deficit to 76-69. Brandon Jennings found the forward to the left of the top of the key and he drained a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 10.

"He had a great game, unfortunately, he couldn't get 30 and 30," said Jennings, who added 15 points as the Bucks won for only the third time in 10 games. "We were on him because he didn't go for 30 and 30. But overall, he played great for us. He's not the type of guy who gets a lot of plays run for him but he is a guy who is really active around the boards. He always seems to get the rebound. He has a nose for the ball."

Deron Williams had 26 points to lead New Jersey, which lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

"They really just outhustled us and outworked us today," Williams said.

Lopez, who missed the Nets' first 32 games with a broken right foot, finished with nine points and two rebounds in 22 minutes.

"It felt good," Lopez said. "My arch was a little sore, but I think that was just the orthotic. It was just exciting to be out there playing with the guys."

Anthony Morrow added 17 points for the Nets, who beat Chicago on Saturday to snap an eight-game losing streak.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who did not play in the Bucks' loss to Orlando on Friday because of a coach's decision, came off the bench and added 12 points and eight rebounds. Carlos Delfino added 11 points, including three 3-pointers in the second half - two at the start and another late - as Milwaukee beat New Jersey for the ninth straight time.

The Bucks opened a 15-point lead early in the second half as Delfino hit consecutive 3-pointers in a 10-2 spurt that also featured two free throws by Ilyasova and a jumper from Jennings.

Milwaukee kept New Jersey at bay most of the second half until the Nets used an 11-2 spurt to close to 76-69.

Ilyasova hit his big 3-pointer and later converted a layup after Jennings hit a free throw following a technical foul on Kris Humphries.

"We had a scouting report going in that he was going to crash the boards," Lopez said. "He averages three offensive rebounds a game, so we really missed our assignment. He crashed hard throughout the night and made some big shots for them."

NOTES: Ilyasova is now one of three players in Bucks' history with a 25/25 game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 10, Nater had one. The last NBA player to go for at least 25/25 was Kevin Love, who had 31-31 against the Knicks on Nov. 12, 2010. ... Nets backup PG Jordan Farmar is going to be sidelined until after the All-Star break with a groin injury. ... Bucks coach Scott Skiles did not know when either F Drew Gooden (wrist, knee) or F Tobias Harris (shoulder) would return. ... Delfino has hit a 3-pointer in eight straight games, the third-longest streak for Milwaukee this season. ... Lopez had not missed a game in his first three seasons (246).

Notebook: Bucks 92, Nets 85

Posted Sunday February 19, 2012 10:38PM

By Abe Schwadron, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Milwaukee Bucks spoiled the season debut of Brook Lopez behind a career night from Ersan Ilyasova, beating the New Jersey Nets 92-85. Ilyasova finished with 29 points and 25 rebounds (both career-highs) and the Bucks relentlessly crashed the boards, helping snap a four-game losing streak. A 9-0 New Jersey run cut a double-digit deficit to just five points with 1:07 remaining, but Carlos Delfino hit a crucial three-pointer with under a minute left and Milwaukee iced the game at the free throw line to improve to 13-18 on the year.

QUOTABLE: "[Ilyasova] was pretty much the number one guy on our scouting report, because he gave us quite a bit of trouble last year, and he came back this year and did the same thing...he out-hustled us, kind of out-energied us. For us, we just couldn't get him off the boards."
-- Nets coach Avery Johnson

THE STAT: The Nets shot 34 percent from the field as a team, including 22 percent from three-point range (5-for-23). In the first half, New Jersey shot 23 percent on field goals and 58 percent on free throws.

TURNING POINT: Milwaukee led 43-36 at halftime, and came out of the break on fire, using a 15-4 run to start the third quarter to take a double-digit lead. The Bucks led by as many as 18 in the second half.

QUOTABLE II: "He had a great game all the way around. He was very active doing what he does, tipping balls, keeping them alive, both boards, and he caused a lot of problems out there. He caused a lot of problems out there and he's a big reason we won the game."
-- Bucks coach Scott Skiles

HOT: Ilyasova. He started hot, with 11 rebounds and 8 points in the first quarter, and through three quarters, he had 24 and 20. Even while playing a good chunk of his minutes at center, Ilyasova was a force on the boards before fouling out with two minutes to play, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds and tormenting the Nets' frontline. His 27 rebounds tied Dwight Howard for the NBA season-high. The Bucks scored 22 second-chance points.

NOT: MarShon Brooks and Deron Williams. Brooks scored 12 points, but shot 3-for-14, while Williams scored 26 points, but needed 24 shots to get there. The tandem shot a combined 3-for-16 from three-point range.

GOOD MOVE: Every single one of the 11 active Bucks players saw action in the first quarter, as coach Skiles used what's left of Milwaukee's depth to keep his starters fresh. It paid off, especially defensively, as the Bucks held New Jersey to 19 percent field goal shooting in the opening quarter.

BAD MOVE: Late in the third quarter, Deron Williams turned his ankle, sidelining him for a stretch and momentarily killing New Jersey's momentum. He winced in pain on the bench but returned to the game.

QUOTABLE III: "I told him, 'Don't foul out man, we need 30!'"
-- Bucks guard Brandon Jennings, on Ilyasova's big rebounding night.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Jon Leuer played just 18 minutes, but two of his six points came on a thunderous baseline dunk over Nets center Shelden Williams midway through the third quarter.

NOTABLE: Lopez had a forgettable start to his 2011-12 season, despite playing 22 minutes. The 7-foot center scored 9 points on 2-for-7 shooting, and was 5-for-11 from the charity stripe. Lopez never found a rhythm, and came up with only two rebounds.

UP NEXT: For the Nets, Monday @ New York, Wednesday vs. Magic, next Tuesday @ Dallas. For the Bucks, Monday vs. Magic, Wednesday @ Chicago, next Tuesday vs. Wizards.

• Bucks: Bogut
• Nets: James, Williams

• Bucks: --
• Nets: Humphries

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
• Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #75 Eric Dalen, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 15262
• Duration: 2:11