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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- For the first time in over a month, fans in the Bradley Center were actually cheering when the Milwaukee Bucks left the court.
Ray Allen had 26 points and nine rebounds as the Bucks snapped
their seven-game home losing streak Sunday with a 102-95 victory
over the Orlando Magic.
|  | | Milwaukee's Ray Allen, left, is called for the blocking foul as Orlando's John Amaechi drives to the basket. |
"I'm just happy it's over," coach George Karl said. "We
played a high quality of basketball in the second half. We're in
good shape to have a solid March. We're definitely in the race."
With their potent offense finally back in rhythm, the Bucks
snapped a five-game losing streak and won for just the second time
in 10 games. The victory, and Milwaukee's solid performance, were
long overdue for a team that slid from fourth to eighth place in
the Eastern Conference in a precipitous three-week stretch.
"He starts out as a monkey, then he turns into a gorilla. In
our case, he was King Kong," Allen said. "King Kong just fell off
the building."
Orlando got a career-high 32 points from Pat Garrity, but he
tired late and the Magic's losing streak reached five. Orlando
finished a four-game road trip with losses to Seattle, Portland,
Utah and Milwaukee.
"It's been a drag," Garrity said of the team's road woes.
"With them struggling and the way they've been playing at home,
and with them also being a team we're chasing, it's a shame we
didn't win this one."
Milwaukee, which allows more points than any NBA team, also
showed some defensive spark. The Bucks, who increased their lead
over Orlando for the final conference playoff spot to 2{ games,
held the Magic scoreless for over 3{ minutes late in the fourth
quarter.
The Bucks made a 9-0 run during that span to break open a close
game and actually draw cheers from the Bradley Center crowd, who
has booed the Bucks heavily during the losing streak. Sam Cassell
added 22 points for Milwaukee.
Tim Thomas, who had 17 points, hit six free throws in the final
minute to seal the win. Thomas then ruffled Karl's hair in a ritual
post-victory gesture that hadn't been needed for quite a while.
"I think everybody was upset this week," Thomas said. "It all
built up, and finally it came out."
Orlando's only consistent offensive weapon was Garrity, whose 20
first-half points came entirely on jump shots and two free throws.
Garrity finished 12-of-17 from the field, but his shots began
missing as his legs tired from 37 minutes of play.
"I had a couple of ridiculous shots go in, but mostly I just
had good open looks," Garrity said. "I was able to take my
time."
Orlando coach Doc Rivers wasn't pleased with the result, but he
couldn't fault his team's effort.
"I don't know if you can get closer to a playoff-type
atmosphere as far as the way the two teams were going at each
other," Rivers said. "It was a game that both teams played
desperately, played hard and scrappy."
To shake up his sleepwalking team, Karl activated journeyman Darvin Ham from the injured list and put him in the starting lineup
in place of Scott Williams. Ham played 30 minutes and had five
points and seven rebounds, including a thunderous rebound dunk in
the second quarter.
But Karl may have benched the wrong starting forward. Glenn
Robinson, who made his first All-Star team earlier this month,
continued his slump with just 14 points and another poor defensive
game against Garrity and Ron Mercer, who had 13 points.
Milwaukee avoided going through the entire month of February
without winning at home. The Bucks have had just four winless home
months in their history.
Game notes
Rivers, a Marquette alum, made his head coaching debut in
Milwaukee. He received a warm reception when introduced to the
crowd. "It's always special coming here," said Rivers. "This is
where I grew up as a person." ... If the conference playoff race
remains close over the next five weeks, this matchup could be
important. The Bucks and Magic meet twice in the regular season's
final 10 days. ... The normally laid-back Karl was in the
officials' faces all afternoon. "If you're going to referee that
hard, we'll get you a whistle," referee Jim Clark said at one
point. ... Milwaukee had four players on the court after a
dead-ball late in the third quarter. Ervin Johnson jumped off the
bench and went into the game, but Mercer hit a jumper and was
fouled.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Orlando Clubhouse
Milwaukee Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 103
Phoenix 102
Milwaukee 102
Orlando 95
New York 89
Philadelphia 88
Portland 101
Utah 92
LA Lakers 101
Houston 85
Minnesota 102
San Antonio 98
Detroit 93
Chicago 90
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