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Thursday, Mar. 16 8:00pm ET
Allen, Cassell, lead Milwaukee | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Ray Allen helped keep the struggling Milwaukee Bucks in the hunt for the playoffs. Losers of 13 of 17 games coming into Thursday night's game, Allen paced the Bucks to a 106-96 victory over the Houston Rockets with 28 points, seven assists and three steals. A loss would have dropped the Bucks a full game behind Orlando for the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. But thanks to Allen, who had some big help from Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson, the Bucks might have salvaged their fading hopes. "We got some confidence tonight," Allen said after shooting 10-for-18 from the floor and playing 42 minutes. He keyed a third-quarter comeback with nine points that erased Houston's 48-40 halftime lead. Rookie Steve Francis, who had 22 points and six assists, pushed the Rockets' lead to 53-42 early in the third with his third of four 3-pointers in the game. But Houston couldn't extend the margin as Allen, who had nine points in the quarter, passed to Scott Williams for a jumper to begin the comeback. Allen and the Bucks kept chipping away and finally took the lead for good with a 14-5 run to close the third quarter. Cassell, who finished with 22 points, capped the decisive surge with a free throw and a jumper that gave Milwaukee a 71-68 lead heading into the final period. Robinson, held to five points in the first half, shook loose in the second half for 14 more, including eight in the fourth quarter as the Bucks never let the lead they grabbed in the third quarter slip away. "We came on later than sooner," Robinson said. Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said the difference in the game turned on the Bucks' defense and the Rockets' lack of ball movement in the second half. "They just stopped us from moving the ball," he said. "I thought we quit moving the ball like we were in the first half. We just didn't get it done." The Rockets' last chance to get back in the game came when Francis hit a 3-pointer that pulled Houston to 93-87 with 3:29 left. But Robinson answered with a 13-foot jumper. Displaying patience and good ball rotation, the Bucks never let the margin fall below eight points the rest of the way. "We didn't force anything," Allen said as Milwaukee sent Houston to its fifth straight loss. Cuttino Mobley had 20 points for Houston and Walt Williams added 19, but it wasn't enough to make up for the missing offense from Hakeem Olajuwon. The Bucks capitalized on the fact Olajuwon played sparingly. He finished with two baskets and two rebounds in 16 minutes. Without his defensive presence, Milwaukee scored 36 points in the paint. Game notesFrancis picked up a technical for firing his mouth guard into the crowd after being called for an offensive foul with 45.6 seconds left in the second. ... Bucks guard Vinny Del Negro missed his second consecutive game with a stress reaction in his right leg. ... The Bucks' Darvin Ham got a technical for his bad-boy posturing after second-quarter dunk. ... Allen has scored in double figures in every game this season. ... With 2:44 left in the third, the shot clock froze at 21 seconds. After a quick conference, the referees subtracted seven seconds. ... Houston is 0-20 on the road when trailing entering the final quarter. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Houston Clubhouse Milwaukee Clubhouse RECAPS Washington 109 LA Lakers 102
Milwaukee 106
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