8th November, 2010
The New Orleans Hornets are rolling. The Milwaukee Bucks are sputtering and growing increasingly frustrated.
David West made 10-of-12 shots and scored a season-high 25 points, and New Orleans remained unbeaten with an 87-81 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday night.
Chris Paul and Marco Belinelli each added 14 for the Hornets, who at 6-0 are off to their best start in franchise history. They entered play under rookie coach Monty Williams as one of only three undefeated teams in the NBA after beating the Miami Heat on Friday.
West said:“I knew we may be a step slow because we had a tough game last night, but we responded. Guys made big plays down the stretch.â€
Andrew Bogut had 19 points and 14 rebounds in his return to the lineup for Milwaukee after missing Friday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers with a migraine. John Salmons added 14 points for the Bucks, who dropped to 2-5.
Brandon Jennings, who had 12 points for Milwaukee, said he can’t pinpoint the cause of the early problems and used a couple of expletives in summing up his team’s play to date.
“We just need to go out there and play basketball,†Jennings said. “Anybody can talk in the locker room.†While Milwaukee looked sluggish for most of the first three quarters, there was no letdown for the Hornets after their 96-93 victory over the Heat on Friday. They led 41-35 at halftime despite 13 first-half turnovers after Belinelli sank a 64-foot, three-quarter court shot at the halftime buzzer.
West scored 10 points in the third quarter, and the Hornets led by as many as 13 points in the period. They led 65-54 after three, but Milwaukee used an 11-2 run to cut it to 67-65 on Jennings’ 3-pointer.
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