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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – The Milwaukee Bucks are out to prove that the
gap between the Eastern Conference and Western Conferences isn't as
great as most think.
|  | | Sam Cassell chases down a loose ball in front of the Spurs' Derek Anderson. |
"Check our record against the top teams in the West,"
Milwaukee's Sam Cassell said. "You'll see what I'm talking about.
"We're not intimidated playing anybody in the West. We feel like we can score with anybody. For us, it's a matter of rebounding and we were able to do that tonight."
Cassell had 24 points and nine assists and Jason Caffey added 15 points as the Bucks beat the San Antonio Spurs 86-77 Saturday night.
The Bucks are a combined 6-2 against the Spurs, Utah, Sacramento, Portland and the Los Angeles Lakers. Both of Milwaukee's losses came against Portland.
"We've beaten a lot of good Western teams," Milwaukee's Glenn
Robinson said. "But we'll let people keep talking about the West."
A capacity crowd of 35,944 saw the Spurs shoot 25-for-79 (31.6 percent), their worst shooting percentage in franchise history. San Antonio also set a season low for field goals.
The Bucks, who outrebounded San Antonio 51-46, weren't much
better, hitting 31 of 80 shots (38.8 percent).
The Bucks took the lead for good with a 12-2 run at the start of
the third period for a 64-54 advantage. The Spurs scored just one
field goal in the first 5:34 of the third period and never got
closer than four points.
"We weren't sharp," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "There were too many turnovers, we didn't handle the ball well and we didn't get back on defense well. We gave up 17 fast break points, and I don't remember the last time we did that. I think it looked like we were tired."
The Spurs hit 5 of 23 shots in the third period and scored a
season-low 12 points in the quarter.
The Bucks have won four straight against San Antonio, including
a two-game sweep this year. The Spurs' eight-game home winning
streak was snapped.
"We've been inconsistent defensively all year, but tonight we played a first-class defensive game," Milwaukee coach George Karl said. "Physically, it was a battle and we rebounded with them."
Tim Duncan had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs. David
Robinson added 19 points and 11 rebounds. Duncan shot 6-for-20 and
Robinson just 6-for-14.
"They're a scrambling team," Robinson said. "They shoot the
shots we make other teams shoot. They have a lot of guys who can
shoot those shots. We play well, play well, play well, then get a
game like this."
Milwaukee charged to a 13-7 lead in the first three minutes
behind six points by Robinson. San Antonio's Sean Elliott entered the game to guard Robinson and shut down the Spurs' leading scorer for the rest of the first period. The Spurs were within 21-20 at the end of the first period Duncan shooting 0-for-5.
Cassell scored 11 points for Milwaukee in the second period, but
the Spurs shot 50 percent in the quarter and tied the game at
50-all at halftime.
Game notes
All 20 of Danny Ferry's starts for San Antonio have come
after the All-Star break. The Spurs are 17-3 in those games. ...
Terry Porter has made 33 consecutive starts for the Spurs, which is
more starts than he made in the last three seasons combined. ...
Since losing to Vancouver on January 23, the Spurs are 28-7. ...
The Bucks finished March with a 11-6 record, giving them their
fourth consecutive winning month. Last time they notched four
straight winning months was 1988-89.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
RECAPS
Houston 96
Washington 86
Atlanta 99
Denver 88
Miami 97
Chicago 90
Milwaukee 86
San Antonio 77
LA Clippers 104
Cleveland 97
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