|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Saturday, Jan. 8 9:00pm ET
Bucks survive double-OT marathon | |||||
|
| ||||||
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The final 1.6 seconds went according to George Karl's plan. Nobody could possibly have planned the 57 minutes before that. Scott Williams' ordinary layup with two-tenths of a second left in double overtime gave the Milwaukee Bucks an extraordinary 130-129 victory over Washington on Saturday night. Both teams were stretched to the absolute limit in a phenomenal game featuring eight lead changes in the two overtimes, including three in the final 9.7 seconds. Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, Glenn Robinson, Rod Strickland and Juwan Howard all fouled out during the second overtime, but Williams hit the last of a half-dozen heart-stopping shots that had the Bradley Center crowd and both benches in hysterics. In the end, it was a simple inbounds play drawn up by Milwaukee coach Karl that got Milwaukee a memorable win. "It sounds ridiculous, but that's exactly what we planned," said Williams, who had never before won a game with a last-second shot. "We knew they probably wouldn't expect me to get the ball, so Coach Karl designed the play to go to me." Mitch Richmond, who finished 25 points, hit a desperate fallaway jumper with 1.6 seconds left to give Washington a 129-128 lead. After a timeout, Vinny Del Negro inbounded the ball to Williams, who spun and shoved past Jahidi White. He scored easily, nearly dunking the ball. Washington's last tip attempt finally missed. "I don't know if I can keep coaching games like this," said Karl, who got his 550th career victory. "Everybody is going to remember Scott Williams, but Vinny made a great pass. To me, the great play was Vinny's pass." "Unfortunately, we got caught on the wrong side," Washington coach Gar Heard said of the play. "They made a perfect pass." Milwaukee was up 126-120 in the second overtime with 1:40 to play, but the Wizards scored seven straight points and took the lead on Chris Whitney's free throws with 43 seconds left. After Washington's Aaron Williams missed two free throws with 14.8 seconds left, Tim Thomas hit a turnaround jumper with 9.7 seconds left that looked like the game-winner. But the game had barely started. Tracy Murray, who finished with 27 points, hit a last-second jumper in regulation, scored seven points in the first overtime and looked like a hero for the Wizards. But Cassell made two free throws with two-tenths of a second left to force double overtime. Robinson led the Bucks with 34 points, and Allen added 28. Strickland had 24 points and 12 assists for the Wizards. Cassell had 16 points and 10 assists. Ervin Johnson, who scored five points in the second overtime, had 18 rebounds. Howard added 20 points for the Wizards. "This team showed incredible character," Johnson said. "We had nothing left, and we still found something else." Milwaukee won its fifth straight home game, while the Wizards lost for the fifth time in six games. Though they lost a heartbreaker, the Wizards looked nothing like the team that lost twice to the Chicago Bulls earlier this week. Washington had five players in double figures, led by the streak-shooting Murray, who hit seven 3-pointers. The Bucks got to overtime by erasing a seven-point deficit in the final 1:40 of regulation. Robinson missed an easy layup as time expired that would have given Milwaukee the win. In the first overtime, Murray hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and his free throw with 41 seconds left gave the Wizards a 117-116 lead. Strickland then made one of two free throws with 5.3 seconds left, but Cassell drove the lane and was fouled by Aaron Williams, who had 13 rebounds in the game. With the Washington bench gleefully shouting at him, Cassell hit two free throws with two-tenths of a second left, and the game went to a second OT. Johnson scored on an offensive rebound and converted a three-point play as the Bucks went up 126-120 with 1:40 left, but Richmond scored five straight points. After Whitney and Thomas exchanged potential game-winning scores, Richmond drove the lane and lost the ball out of bounds, but the officials gave possession to the Wizards. Richmond then hit a jumper while falling away from a Bucks defender. Washington was up 101-94 with 1:40 left in regulation, but Thomas and Allen hit 3-pointers. Allen then hit a twisting layup while being fouled, and his free throw with 48 seconds left tied the score 103-103. After a Washington turnover, Cassell grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. Cassell hit two free throws with 12.5 seconds to play, but Murray hit a long jumper with 3.6 seconds left to tie the score 105-105. Milwaukee got the ball to Robinson, who drove past Howard, but left a one-foot layup short as time expired. Robinson hit seven of his first eight shots and had 15 points in the first quarter. Game notesKarl, never much of a fashion plate, wore a snazzy black-and-tan checked jacket. The outfit drew appreciative wolf whistles from several female fans as Karl took the court before the game. ... Del Negro missed his first free throw of the season during the second quarter. Del Negro was 18-of-18 before his miss. ... The game was tied at 66-66, 77-77 and 88-88. ... Second-year forward Robert Traylor, banished to the Bucks' bench by Karl, got a derisive ovation when he played the final 37 seconds of the first half.the team that lost twice to the Chicago Bulls earlier this week. Washington had five players in double figures, led by the streak-shooting Murray, who hit seven 3-pointers. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Washington Clubhouse Milwaukee Clubhouse RECAPS Minnesota 110 Detroit 105
Milwaukee 130
  | |||||