| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- So what if the Golden State Warriors were
missing their top three scorers? Donyell Marshall looked like he could have beaten the Milwaukee Bucks five-on-one.
|  | | Golden State's Donyell Marshall found time to play some defense, too, including this block of a Glenn Robinson shot. |
Marshall had a career-high 37 points and a season-high 21
rebounds as the Warriors beat the reeling Bucks 91-86 on Wednesday
night for their third victory in four games.
Using rim-rocking dunks, feather-soft outside shots and powerful
rebounding, Marshall even amazed his teammates with the
self-described best game of his career.
"He was an animal. He was a monster," said Mookie Blaylock, who had 14 assists for the Warriors. "I've been trying to get the animal to come
out of his cage. He did it tonight."
Erick Dampier added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who posted an improbable win despite playing without injured Antawn
Jamison, Chris Mills and Larry Hughes, who was a last-minute
scratch because of a sprained ankle.
Marshall's performance, which included 21 second-half points and
eight offensive rebounds, gave Milwaukee a six-game homecourt
losing streak. He seemed to be everywhere at once, scoring inside
and outside while rebounding over both teams' tallest players. He
also played solid defense on Glenn Robinson, which he said was his
favorite part of the game.
Marshall credited Blaylock with bringing out the monster in him.
"Mookie pulled me aside before the game and said we going to
run it to me all night," Marshall said. "He always yells at me
when I'm not focused, and I try to play harder when he does it. I
was able to stay focused for the whole game tonight."
The Warriors snapped a five-game road losing streak with just
their sixth victory away from Oakland this season.
The Bucks have lost seven of their last eight games overall and
a season-high four straight, which includes consecutive losses to
Vancouver, Washington and Golden State. Their confidence obviously
shaken, the Bucks allowed the Warriors to stay close through three
quarters and then choked on the big shots at the end.
"We were tight," coach George Karl said. "Our confidence was not at a high level. We were shaken because of what's been happening with this team."
Marshall and Dampier led a 12-3 Warriors run to start the fourth. Marshall tipped in his own miss with 9:18 to play to give Golden State an 80-74 lead, bringing loud boos for the Bucks from the scarce Bradley Center crowd.
Milwaukee cut the lead to 85-84 with 2:30 left, but after
turnovers by both teams, Marshall hit a free throw and a leaning
jumper with 45 seconds left to boost Golden State's lead to 88-84.
After Glenn Robinson hit a jumper, Ervin Johnson blocked
Marshall's jump shot attempt but then missed a short jumper for
Milwaukee with 10 seconds left. Jason Caffey made one of two free
throws, and Tim Thomas' 3-point shot with three seconds left was in
and out. Marshall added two free throws to set his career-high.
"I don't think anything is wrong," Robinson said. "We're just
going through a tough period of the season, and we've got to clean
it up."
The Bucks, who were fighting for homecourt advantage in the
playoffs just two weeks ago, are just one game ahead of Orlando for
the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot. Milwaukee's Big Three
-- Robinson, Allen and Sam Cassell _ failed again, going 24-of-55 from the field.
Karl, who called the Big Three defensive "sieves" after losing
to Vancouver on Saturday, refused to criticize his players on
Wednesday.
"We've just got to keep plugging away," Karl said. "It's not
broken yet. We're still in a pretty good position."
Still, the Bucks are playing tentative basketball, with none of
the offensive flair they had earlier in the season. Robinson was
his usual step slow on defense, despite matching Allen's team-high
24 points.
"I'm not confident at all that when we go out there, we have a
chance to win," Allen said. "On our team, the effort is not being
given."
Game notes
Marshall was just the latest small forward or big guard to
have a big game against Robinson in Milwaukee. Shareef Abdur-Rahim,
Jalen Rose, Latrell Sprewell and Steve Smith all posted big numbers
at Robinson's expense during the Bucks' home losing streak. ...
Karl nearly screamed himself hoarse trying to get the Bucks to play
for one shot with 21 seconds left in the third quarter. Instead,
Robinson launched an off-balance shot that missed badly while Karl
hopped up and down in dismay. ... The Bucks reportedly may be
interested in trading for Caffey, who had 10 points and 11
rebounds.
| |
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Golden State Clubhouse
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Jamison out rest of Warriors' season after knee surgery
RECAPS
Philadelphia 94
LA Clippers 78
LA Lakers 116
Cleveland 98
Indiana 118
Detroit 111
Miami 99
New Jersey 85
Toronto 99
New York 88
Golden State 91
Milwaukee 86
Atlanta 100
Sacramento 94
|
