NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Jamaal Magloire reminded his New Orleans
teammates that they can go to him when the Hornets' normally
reliable outside shooting is off.
Magloire had 20 points and 11 rebounds, including three 5-foot
jump hooks late in the final period, to help New Orleans hold off
the Milwaukee Bucks 91-85 on Monday night.
"I feel comfortable stepping up whenever the team needs me and
this was just one of those times," Magloire said.
Baron Davis added 18 points and 10 assists on a night when he
struggled with his shot (6-of-25). But his floater off the glass
with 30 seconds left and his three free throws on the Hornets' next
two possessions kept the Bucks at bay.
"To our credit, when the game got tight we kind of went back to
what we were doing early, when we got the lead and got the ball to
the rim either off the penetration or by dumping it into our
bigs," Hornets coach Tim Floyd said. "I thought we couldn't have
won without our bigs."
Davis was effective passing off of the drive and on the fast
break, at one point thrilling the crowd with a behind-the-back
bounce pass in the lane to forward P.J. Brown, who was fouled on
the shot.
Brown hit the fould shots and finished with 12 points. David
Wesley scored 18 for New Orleans, which handed Milwaukee its fourth
loss in five games.
Desmond Mason led the Bucks with 17 points, while Joe Smith had
13 points and 15 rebounds. Damon Jones scored 14 points, shooting
4-of-6 from 3-point range. Michael Redd also had 14, but was held
without a field goal until midway through the third quarter.
"You want to play well every night, but it's not going to
happen," said Redd, who was 4-of-18 from the field against Wesley
and reserve Stacy Augmon. "I'm not perfect. I'm not going to have
many nights like that."
While the Hornets shot 38 percent (33-of-86), the Bucks were
even worse at just under 35 percent (35-of-101).
"We just couldn't make anything. It was a tough night," Bucks
coach Terry Porter said. "We just have to figure out how to make
shots."
The Hornets never trailed after Brown hit an 18-foot jump shot
with 3:39 left in the first quarter, and New Orleans built several
double-digit leads. The Bucks refused to wilt, however, staying in
the game by outrebounding New Orleans 59-47. Milwaukee had 20
offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points.
New Orleans led 66-53 in the third period after Brown passed to
Magloire for a jam and George Lynch scored on a tip-in on
successive possessions.
Milwaukee regrouped during a timeout and responded with a 14-3
run, capped when Jones faked an outside jumper and found Smith
underneath for a one-handed dunk that cut the score to 69-67 at the
end of the third quarter.
New Orleans opened the final period with an 8-0 run for a 77-67
lead, but Mason's layup to finish a fast break, followed by and a
close-range shot by Smith, cut the score to 84-81. Magloire's short
jump hook made it 86-81, and both teams exchanged scoreless
possessions -- including two missed free throws by Daniel Santiago --
before Davis' floater forced the Bucks to foul on New Orleans'
remaining possessions.
"We've been in every game this year ... so we have to finish
the games out," Redd said.
The Hornets led 41-26 in the second quarter after David West
kept the ball in play while leaping over the baseline and found
Darrell Armstrong for short jump shot.
But the Bucks climbed back into the game with a 10-0 run during
which Jones, shooting 29 percent on 3-pointers coming in, hit two
straight shots from long range. Jones had eight points during the
run, which made the score 41-36.
The Bucks trailed 52-45 at halftime after Santiago's short
no-look pass underneath set up Dan Gadzuric's dunk.
Game notes
Officials looked at a replay to decide whether Armstrong
should have been called for a foul on Redd's missed shot at the
first quarter buzzer. They determined contact occurred after time
had expired. ... Davis, who shot nearly 40 percent in November from
3-point range, was 0-for-10 from that distance Monday and is
9-of-68 (13 percent) in his last seven games. ... Smith leads
Milwaukee in double-doubles with six.