The Bucks' rough week came to a rough close Saturday night, as not even the return of Michael Redd and a night on their home turf could prevent the Bucks from dropping their fourth straight, 97-85 to the red-hot Cavaliers.  Redd came off the bench and shot just 5/16, but still led the Bucks with 20 points in 35 minutes.  Mo Williams was fairly quiet in his first game back at the BC, scoring 13 on just 6/20 fg, but LeBron James (32/7/5) and Zyrdrunas Ilgauskas (23/17) brought the goods for Cleveland.  As usual the Bucks hung tough for most of the game, but a late 11-2 run by the Cavs sealed it.

Three Bucks

• Ramon Sessions.  Though he shot just 6/17 from the field, Sessions generally outplayed his former mentor with 16 points, eight dimes, and just one turnover in a team-high 44 minutes.  Still lacking a consistent jumper, Sessions manufactured most of his points by making good cuts through the lane or knifing past defenders off his own dribble.
  
• Richard Jefferson.  It's difficult to expect anyone to contain LeBron James anymore, so the bright side of James' 32 points is that Jefferson (and Mbah a Moute) made him take a lot of shots (12/27 fg) to get there.  Otherwise Jefferson provided about what we expect from him: 19 points (7/14 fg), six board, three dimes, and a block.
• Luke Ridnour.  Starting next to Ramon Sessions for the first time, Ridnour tallied just one assist but made up for it with 16 points on just nine shots to go with six boards. 
  

Three Numbers

• 53-38.  Coming into the game the Bucks hadn't been outrebounded since November 8 against Phoenix, but Cleveland absolutely dominated the boards with a +15 edge overall and a huge 19-7 edge on the offensive glass.  Ilgauskas singlehandedly matched the Bucks with seven offensive rebounds, while Ben Wallace didn't score but half his 10 rebounds come off Cleveland misses.  Given the Bucks regularly score less efficiently than their opponents, those extra 12 Cleveland possessions gave the Bucks little chance.
• 0.  The best Buck in +/- terms was Joe Alexander, who played just 30 seconds and wasn't on the court for any points by either team.  In contrast, Mo Williams (+15) led three Cavs +10 or better.
• 5.  The Bucks totaled 18 turnovers compared to just 19 assists, with Luc Mbah a Moute contributing a whopping five of those in just 22 minutes.  In contrast, the Cavs turned it over just 10 times.

Three Good

• Redd's back.  Redd looked a bit rusty--most obviously in the second quarter, when a three point attempt from the left wing flew out of his hands as he was loading up, landing a couple rows behind him.  Still, Redd was aggressive (8/8 ft) and did a pretty good job of finding open teammates off his drives.  The final score tonight didn't show it, but the Bucks are at least inching back to health. 
  
• New ideas.  It didn't have much effect either way, but kudos to Skiles for trying to shake things up with a new-look starting lineup.  Luc Mbah a Moute has slumped a bit and Charlie Bell's shot hasn't been right all year, likely due in part to his bum leg.  They made way for Sessions and Charlie Villanueva, who was actually a question mark after reaggravating his hamstring injury last night.  Perhaps that was partly why Malik Allen saw so much more time than CV.
  
• (Pass).  Like last night, I'm boycotting my third bullet here.  I'm getting sick of looking for silver linings. 
  

Three Bad

• Shot in the dark.  After watching the Bucks suffer through another sub-40% shooting effort, I wondered when the last time was that they made 50% or better of their field goal attempts.  Answer: April 14, 2008 against the Bulls, making it 20 games and counting.  Yeah, it's been a rough year offensively.
• Outworked, for once.  It's not that Bucks weren't trying, but the Cavs' dominance on the glass translated into a 22-7 edge in second chance points--which happens to be the primary way the Bucks have been overcoming their perpetually cold shooting.
• Z's J's.  Ilgauskas did the dirty work with his 17 boards, but his silky smooth jumper set an early tone, capitalizing on the Bucks' collapsing defense to calmly nail jumper after jumper.  Though Ilgauskas' penchant for jump shots has translated into a not-great-for-a-big 48% career field goal percentage, he's up over 53% this year and made 11/17 tonight.

Maybe we should start calling them the Milwaukee Rasputins; eventually you can kill them off, but it's never easy.  Sadly, the Bucks' tough luck continued in Atlanta tonight as Al Horford led the Hawks past the Bogut-less but resilient Bucks 102-96. 

Three Bucks

• Ramon Sessions.  Sessions returned to his more familiar sixth man role and once again filled the stat sheet with 21 points (9/15 fg), eight dimes and seven boards in 37 minutes.  Mike Bibby and Acie Law just couldn't keep Sessions from getting to the rack, and he not surprisingly led the Bucks with a +7 differential.  He also had a costly travel with 2:02 remaining and the Bucks down just two, but then again this was also only his 32nd NBA game. So don't think I'm complaining.
  
• Charlie Villanueva.  Villanueva couldn't handle Horford in the late going, but he was also carrying the Bucks offensively with 15 fourth quarter points, scoring every which way including 5/5 from the stripe.  He totaled 19 points (7/12 fg) in only 22 minutes and certainly deserved to see more burn.
• Richard Jefferson.  With Bogut and Redd out, Jefferson did a decent job trying to fill the Bucks' gaping offensive void with 25 points (9/20 fg), though Marvin Williams had a more efficient night (18 points on eight fga).

Three Numbers

• 4/12.  Joe Johnson entered the game averaging 24 points, but Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Charlie Bell did an excellent job bottling up the Hawks' go-to guy and holding him to just 15 points on 4/12 fg.  Mbah a Moute's combination of length and footspeed gave Johnson little room to find a shot in the fourth, but credit JJ with knowing when to dish--his nine assists made sure that teammates did the damage for him.
• .417.  The Hawks came into the game leading the league in three point percentage (43%) while the Bucks led in three point percentage allowed (29%).  In the end the Hawks got the better of that subplot, as they made 10 triples including some big ones late from Flip Murray and Mo Evans. 
• 25:17.  With Bogut on the shelf, Scott Skiles went small much of the night as Dan Gadzuric and Francisco Elson totaled just 25 combined minutes.  Gadzuric actually started well with six early points, showing some rare touch in the process.  But following a lackluster start to the third, Skiles went small with a Jefferson/Mbah a Moute/Alexander frontline and stayed small the rest of the game.  
  

Three Good

• More moral victories!  Yeah, I'm kind of getting sick of these, but it's better than getting blown out, 'nahmean?
  
• Round mounds of rebound.  Even with Bogut out of the lineup the Bucks won the battle of the boards, 35-32.  That's now 10 straight games where the Bucks have bettered or matched their opponents in total boards.  Only the Suns and Bulls have outrebounded the Bucks through 17 games.
• School is in Sessions.  How amazing is it that Sessions has been this good this soon?  Yeah, he's got rough edges and his decision-making can be questionable at times.  But if you only knew he was 22 years old and nothing else about his background, you'd probably guess that he was a highly-touted lottery pick, right?   How the hell did this guy slip through the cracks?

Three Bad

• Playing catch-up.  A common theme of the Bucks' close losses has been their inability to play from the front; they generally fall behind early and then rely on their defense to keep them in the game until they can put together a bit of a hot streak offensively.  Tonight they didn't dig themselves as big of a hole as in Orlando, but missing Bogut they didn't have the inside presence to counter Horford late.
• The education of Joe Alexander.  This isn't purely a bad thing, but Alexander continues to be a tough guy to figure out.  On most nights so far he's probably been too unselfish, but tonight he came out looking for his shot pretty much everytime he touched it.   In the process of going 4/11 from the field he hit a couple nice shots, but generally left a fair bit to be desired in terms of shot selection (hint: don't try to post up Al Horford).  Hopefully he'll find that happy medium soon.
• Luc's luck?  Mbah a Moute has struggled with his shot since the Denver game, making just 10/32 shots over the past five games.  Good thing his defense isn't so streaky.

After trading Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford earlier in the afternoon, the Knicks could barely field a team Friday night at the BC, opening the door for the Bucks to roll to an easy 104-87 win at the BC.  Coming off his 16 and 20 game in Utah, Andrew Bogut was again everywhere with 17 boards and 14 points (7/11 fg) in just 25 minutes while Charlie Villanueva returned from injury to score 20 (8/12 fg) in just 13 minutes. Ramon Sessions added his first double-double of the season with 15 points, 10 dimes, three steals and two turnovers.

The Bucks were once again dominant on the glass, outrebounding the Knicks 60-46 including 17-9 on the offensive end.  Luc Mbah a Moute matched Bogut with six offensive rebounds and finished with eight points and 13 rebounds.  Still, the Bucks allowed a double-digit lead early to shrink to just three at the half, before they finally put the Knicks away early in the third with a 7-0 run.  The short-handed Knicks could only watch as the Bucks then extended the lead to 21 later in the period.

While the Bucks had no excuses not to throttle the Knicks, they did just that and allowed Scott Skiles the luxury of resting his starters in the fourth.  Mbah a Moute led the Bucks with just 29 minutes, meaning the Bucks shouldn't be too tired when they take on the Bobcats in Charlotte tonight.

This might be a new-look Bucks team, but the second half in Salt Lake City tonight looked eerily familiar to a year ago, when the Bucks allowed a promising third quarter lead dissolve into an 11-point loss.  This time the final margin was 105-94, as Utah's young perimeter players stepped up again in Deron Williams absence.  C.J. Miles tallied 25 and Ronnie Price 16, while old reliable Carlos Boozer had his usual 20/11 before departing late with a quad injury.

Three Bucks

• Andrew Bogut. Having played only 16 minutes last night, Bogut looked fresh in tallying 16 points (6/13 fg) and a season-high 20 boards while handling the unenviable task of marking Carlos Boozer.  Offensively he couldn't exploit his size advantage most of the night, but as usual the Bucks' guards didn't give him many easy buckets either (I'm looking at you, Luke Ridnour). 
  
• Richard Jefferson.  Jefferson's night seemed somewhat disappointing only because it started with such a bang.  Though RJ had just two points in the game's final 20 minutes, he had 23 in the first 28 minutes and was a crucial part of the Bucks' 29-6 run that stretched across the end of the second and beginning of the third quarters.  
• Charlie Bell.  Bell followed up his 25 point effort in Denver with 15 in Utah, the kind of numbers which would be even nicer if Bell was able to provide them off the bench.  Instead, Redd's absence continues to force Bell into major minutes, which to his credit he's made the most of the past two nights.

Three Numbers

• .514.  Aside from the middle portion of the game where they seemingly lost interest, the Jazz were by far the more active team, creating easy buckets by cutting, stealing, and getting out in transition.  It's no surprise then that they made a very healthy 51% of their shots compared to the Bucks' 44%.
• 10.  Aside from their number of dunks, the Jazz's activity level also shines through in the block department, where they killed the Bucks 10-1.  Most of the swatting was done by Paul Millsap (5) and Andrei Kirilenko (4)--not a bad pair to bring off the bench.
• 13.  The Bucks entered the final stanza in a strange position: they were winning.  However, the Bucks' two point edge was blown away by the 31-18 edge the Jazz built in the fourth.  Overall it was a game of lopsided quarters: the Jazz won the first by 10, the Bucks won the second by 12, and the Jazz took the fourth by 13.

Three Good

• Bogut's back.  Still no signs of greatness in the post (we can dream, right?) but it's difficult to complain when your big man drops a 16/20 line.  The Australian anchor looked at home in the state where he played his college ball and once again helped the Bucks win the rebounding battle, 41-37.
• Coming back.  It looked like the road weary Bucks were on their way to getting blown out when they trailed by 16 early in the second, but as we've seen a number of times this season they didn't back down.  Sessions, Bell, Jefferson, Mbah a Moute and Bogut helped the Bucks climb out of their hole and then some, keying a 29-6 run that turned a 45-30 deficit with 6:54 left in the second into a 59-51 lead with 9:32 left in the third.  What happened next?  I'll direct you to the "Three Bad" portion below.
• Home cooking.  The best part about the Bucks' back-to-back out West?  It's over.  The Bucks now have a crucial--but very winnable--game Friday against New York at the BC, before heading out on the road again.

Three Bad

• Going cold.  Basically, the Jazz won because they remembered what they were doing at the outset of the game.  Price, Brewer, and Kirilenko dared the Bucks to keep up with them and the Bucks couldn't match the their intensity and athleticism.  Instead the Bucks took a lot of jumpshots and couldn't grab quite enough offensive rebounds to make up for their crooked shooting.
  
• Ridnour.  Ridnour couldn't get much going offensively (eight points, six assists, three turnovers) but his bigger problem was that Jazz fill-in Ronnie Price easily outplayed him with 16 points (7/13) and six dimes.  Price caused problems with his quickness and generally seemed the more lively of the two starting points.
• Laying off.  Fouls have been an issue for the Bucks all season, and they again outfouled their opponent tonight by a margin of 27-20.  It's hard to criticize the Bucks for being more aggressive defensively than in the past, but one thing that always gets me is how a Buck defender will often get right up on a man on the perimeter and make himself vulnerable to a dribble drive, even when the offensive player is a much better driver than shooter.  While it looks very intense and ball-hawkish, most of the time it just opens up the defender (Richard Jefferson, Charlie Bell, Joe Alexander, to name a few) to allowing a successful drive to the hoop or a foul.  Hey guys, sometimes it's OK to dare a mediocre shooter into taking an 18-footer.

The Bucks may have headed west, but their play went mostly southward in a 114-105 loss in Denver. They performed like an overmatched team missing key parts in a tough environment against a very good team, which should probably be expected since that was precisely their predicament.

Not all was negative though, as Joe Alexander (14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals, 2-4 on three-pointers) led the Bucks in minutes and delivered his finest game as a pro, proving first-round picks can succeed in Milwaukee too. Andrew Bogut however, (2 points, 3 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls) didn't represent the first overall pick contingent very proudly.

Three Bucks

• Joe Alexander.  Buried not too far down in the rubble that was the Bucks tonight was this shiny nugget of goodness. The rookie harnessed some excess athleticism and energy with three mighty blocks in the first half. Alexander showed off a series of offensive moves too, swishing a pair of jumpers on consecutive plays in the second quarter. The forced airball three with the Bucks down by nine with just over a minute left looked a bit "rookie," but he's most certainly growing.
  
• Charlie Bell. Bell carried the Bucks in spurts, particularly during a slow, sloppy second quarter in which he scored 13 points. He filled in at starting shoot guard again with a pretty nice, Michael Redd-ish 25/3/2 and 3-6 from outside.
  
• Austin Croshere. He equaled Carmelo Anthony's 17 points in just 17 minutes off the bench, mostly in "garbage time" that turned briefly into a real game thanks in part to Croshere's strong play.
  

Three Numbers

• +2. Joe Alexander's differential in 31 minutes.
  
• 48. The Bucks hacked the Nuggets into 48 free throws attempts, 26 in the first half alone. The fouls not only gave Denver easy points, but kept important Bucks sidelined. Linas Kleiza made 13-15 from the line himself.
  
• 27. Dahntay Jones finished with the most minutes among Denver's starters, with 27. That's indicative of how easily the Nuggets cruised to victory.
  

Three Good

• Getting closer. You might recall that the Bucks got blown out a lot last year. And while all losses count the same, it is refreshing to see the Bucks playing competitively even in losses. Their opening-night loss in Chicago by 13 remains their worst result and the only other double-digit loss was in Boston by 12. This game seemed very lost for a very long time, but then the scoreboard showed 110-100 with three and change to play, providing at least a few moments of hope down the stretch.
  
• The bench. Austin Croshere, nice. It was largely a battle of the benches for much of the second half when the Bucks outscored the Nuggets by five. If the likes of Alexander and Croshere can contribute to some extent when Michael Redd and Charlie Villanueva return, the bench might not be such a sore spot after all.
• No average Joe. Alexander quadrupled his season block total and doubled his season steal total. He also showed some nice two-way potential, elevating not only on the shot blocks but on his pretty jumper.
  

Three Bad

• Rocky start. The Bucks descended on Denver in good form, but the starters struggled early on. Consider: Luke Ridnour had two fouls and two turnovers before his first assist. Charlie Bell opened a quick 1-5 from the field, including a straightaway airball three-pointer. Richard Jefferson managed to pick up three fouls in under four minutes. Luc Mbah a Moute was solid until he also picked up two early fouls, forcing him to the bench. Andrew Bogut meanwhile knocked knees with Nene, sidelining him before taking a shot. The rocky start saw the second unit  playing major minutes, and Bucks behind early.
• A foul showing. Somehow no Buck fouled out, but the team amassed an absurd 38 fouls, a sure recipe for disaster. Andrew Bogut continued a sort of crumbly early campaign by picking up bad fouls high and low, scoring two points in 16 minutes, while being thoroughly outplayed by Nene Hilario (13 points on 6-8 and six rebounds in 21 minutes). Bogut's performance against the Celtics feels like a lot longer than three days ago.
  
• We've got the Jazz. Home is probably feeling like even more than 1,043 miles away for the Bucks. And they don't move in the right compass direction from Denver either. The Bucks head to Salt Lake City to face another Western power on Wednesday night in yet another back-to-back. To make matters worse, they face the Jazz, who are undefeated at home.
  

That is a logo. (via sports-logos-screensavers)

Bucks (5-6, 3-3 road) @ Nuggets (6-4, 3-1 home)

Gametime: 8:00 p.m. central time (FSN-W)

Injuries:

Bucks: Michael Redd (ankle) has missed seven straight games. Charlie Villanueva (hamstring) has missed two in a row.

Nuggets: Steven Hunter (knee), Chris Andersen (rib), and Chucky Atkins (knee) are out.

07/08 Series:

Dec. 26: @Nuggets 125 Bucks 105

Feb 23: @Bucks 115 Nuggets 109

08/09 Advanced Stats:

Bucks: Offense: 24th (102.5 points/100 possessions) Defense: 10th (103.7) Pace: 4th (95.3)

Nuggets: Offense: 25th (102.2 points/100 possessions) Defense: 6th (100.7)  Pace: 22nd (90.0)

Three points:

• Hilario no laughing matter. Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony will lead the headlines, but Nene Hilario leads the NBA in field goal percentage, at 64.1 %. The Brazilian is posting career highs in points (14.7), rebounds (7.3), free-throw percentage (.744), field goal percentage (.641) and blocks (1.8). Like Bogut last year, Hilario's big jump comes in shot-blocking, doubling last year's 0.9 average. He's also historically performed well against Milwaukee, with averages of 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds on 69.8 % from the field in eight career games against the Bucks.

• Billups living up to billing. In dealing away Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets figured to have a more steady, classic starting point guard. And Denver is firing on all cylinders, 5-1, since the blockbuster trade. Some of Billups' numbers suggest he has taken on some of Iverson's aggressiveness on both sides of the ball, too. Since suiting up with the Nuggets on Nov. 7, Billups is averaging 19.5 points, 7.2 free throw attempts, and 1.8 steals per game. Those stats are the best he's ever posted. The Nuggets' fast pace only accounts for so much of the increases. In Denver, Billups has a better individual pure scorer, Carmelo Anthony, than he had in Detroit. But the Nuggets certainly lack the all-around offensive depth of Detroit, meaning the point guard is likely to continue to assume greater scoring responsibilities. In any event, Ramon Sessions and Luke Ridnour will have their hands full on both sides of the ball tonight.

• A fine line. Three Bucks rank in the top 50 in the NBA in free throws made. Richard Jefferson (16th, 50 ftm) is probably the obvious one. The other two? Ramon Sessions (42nd, 36 ftm) and Luc Mbah a Moute (45th, 35 ftm). That aggressiveness you perceive from them? It's lovely reality.
  

Coverage:

Pickaxe and Roll / The Nugg Doctor

While the Bucks' 5-6 record isn't going to turn many heads in L.A. or New York, it's tough to complain given what they're up against: an obscene eight back-to-backs in the first month, 12 of the first 19 on the road, and seven games and counting without Michael Redd. Add in all the new faces and the team's miserable preseason performance, and it's difficult not to feel a bit relieved with what Scott Skiles and company have managed to pull off in the first eleven games. Then again, the Bucks have little time to pat themselves on the back, with six of their next eight on the road, including back-to-back road games in Denver and Utah.

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The Bucks faced the defending champions without two regular starters, and a third was unjustifiably ejected in crunch crime. Missing three of Milwaukee's best, the Bucks nonetheless took the Celtics into overtime, where they came tantalizingly close before falling just short in a classic at the Bradley Center, 102-97.

Milwaukee used an exhilarating fourth quarter run to come back a 12-point deficit, capped by Luke Ridnour's pretty lay-in to force overtime. Andrew Bogut was ejected late in the fourth quarter after receiving his second technical, the last one because his hand inadvertently came down on Kevin Garnett's face, prompting KG to weakly punch Bogut in the forehead area. With Charlie Bell also ailing, the Bucks were without Bogut, Bell, Michael Redd, and Charlie Villanueva. Not surprisingly, they ran out of offensive firepower during bonus basketball, totaling just four points in the five minutes. Still, they had a chance to tie down by three, but a broken play resulted in Dan Gadzuric's missed two-point attempt, as each team made just one overtime field goal.

Three Bucks

• Andrew Bogut. Bogut scored four of the team's first six points on a pair of pretty hooks to help give the Bucks a 6-0 lead. With nearly everyone else struggling to score against a suffocating defense, Bogut led an offensive charge that piqued in the fourth quarter. The only thing that could stop the Aussie were the officials, who sent him to the locker room after he absorbed a punch to the face by Kevin Garnett, who, by the way, Bogut outscored (20-15) and outrebounded (9-7) despite an early trip to the showers.
• Luke Ridnour. For the second straight night, the pair of point guards make it here. We'll start with Ridnour, who took his late-game heroics turn a day after Sessions nailed a game-tying three to force overtime. This time, it was Ridnour who drove to the basket for a scooping layup to tie the game at 97 and force overtime. Ridnour was absolutely excellent from the field (5-7), outside (3-4), and the line (6-7).
  
• Ramon Sessions. The point guard's assist numbers aren't remarkably high this year, but he continues to show the amazing court vision that produced gaudy assist totals last Spring. He also is limiting mistakes quite wonderfully for a young point guard; he has just five turnovers in his last five games and has converted 24-30 (.800) free throws in that span. He couldn't find his shot (5-17) against an active Boston defense, but Sessions made plenty of positive contributions anyway. Last season there was much talk about whether Rajon Rondo (0-1, 2 points, 6 assists) could start at point guard on a champion. He proved doubters wrong. Does anyone doubt the Bucks' backup couldn't do the same, given the right pieces around him?
  

Three Numbers

• 34. Milwaukee scored 34 glorious points in the fourth quarter to come back from a 12-point deficit and force overtime. They hit 11 free throws in that period and were aggressive throughout. The Celtics are the top defensive team out there, and the Bucks ran roughshod over them in the fourth despite being without Redd, Villanueva, Bell, and then Bogut following his ejection. That works.
• 9. The Celtics racked up nine blocked shots compared to the Bucks' four. Richard Jefferson's emphatic rejection of Kendrick Perkins in the fourth quarter was nice, but Garnett's scintillating stuff of Sessions in overtime may have been the best of the bunch. Garnett led the way with four blocks and Perkins added three. Nine also stands for the number of field goals Pierce attempted, an impressively low number considering he netted 28 points.
  
• 38. The Bucks made 30-38 free throw attempts. The Celtics did a little better, hitting 32-36, but Milwaukee was very aggressive against a very good defense. The free throws helped the Bucks hang around despite shooting just 31-85 (.365) from the field.
  

Three Good

• Bradley's Centers. Facing the league's stoutest defense, Bogut delivered a season-high 20 points. His assertiveness helped push big men like Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, Leon Powe, and Garnett into foul trouble, and the latter into emotional problems. Bogut was fouled on the play of the confrontation with Garnett and his ejection, leaving the Celtics to pick any player to shoot the free throws. They chose Dan Gadzuric, who calmly sunk both important free throws to draw the Bucks within three at 83-86. Gadzuric played well the rest of the way, even winning the overtime tip against Garnett, and slamming home a dunk to give the Bucks a 97-96 lead. In all, the centers did a fabulous job against Boston's usually smoldering and smutthering interior defense.
  
• Bucks' pluck. This is very different than luck. Luck is having good fortune purely by chance. Pluck refers to resourcefulness and courage, making one's own good fortune in a sense. And pluck is what these Bucks possess, a trait that makes them inherently watchable, even in losses like tonight. He might be a Prince, but Luc Richard Mbah a Moute plays with the rugged determination of a commoner. Suffering an 0-4 start from the field, he swished a jumper and then sprinted to steal the ensuing inbounds pass. Falling out of bounds, he delivered the pass to Sessions, who drew a foul and got to the free throw line, a place where the point guard spends a fair amount of time. Mbah a Moute made another huge steal and falling-out-of-bounds save during the team's fourth quarter run. The tight game proved the Bucks aren't only plucky either; these guys can play against anyone, champions included.
• The youth is here. The Bucks figured to have serious depth problems coming into this season, yet here they were tonight, without Redd, Villanueva, Bell, and Bogut down the stretch, forcing the Celtics into overtime. Youngsters Sessions, Mbah a Moute, and Alexander are coming along quite nicely, to say the least.
  

Three Bad

• In the 30's. While I'm not talking about the near-freezing temperatures outside the Bradley Center at gametime, I am referring to something cold: The Bucks' first half offense. For the third consecutive game, the offense couldn't crack 40 first-half points. Against the Spurs they scored 37, then 31 against Grizzlies, and finally 38 versus the Celtics. Improbably, the Bucks won the first two and almost pulled another victory tonight. We know Michael Redd and Charlie Villanueva don't usually bring a lot of defense, but their offensive dynamism and outside shooting ability was missed, especially in the waning moments of overtime when, down by three, the Bucks attempted an... awkward two-point floating-type shot by Gadzuric? I mean, I know Gadz made the team's only field in overtime, but still. That leads us to...
  
• Three, it's a magic number. The Bucks staged another captivating double-digit second half comeback, but unlike against the Wizards, Spurs, and Grizzlies, didn't quite pull out a win. Not to get greedy, considering they incredibally pushed the champs into overtime playing shorthanded, but... The Bucks could have forced double-overtime with a three-pointer, but chose instead to feed Gadzuric for a ten-footer with just a few second left. That was an unfitting, anticlimactic finish to dramatic game. Also, four points in overtime isn't likely to get the job done.
  
• Boston T Party. This isn't a Bucks' bad. Bogut undeservedly picked up his second technical after unintentionally making contact with KG's face, and the Celtics were a bit chippy all night. Doc Rivers picked up the first technical and Perkins, Powe, and KG added a few more to the Celtics' NBA-leading 19 technicals coming into the game. Garnett, who fouled out in overtime, should have been kicked out after umm, bopping Bogut in the face.
  

Among the many sobering lessons learned by Bucks fans in recent years: few commodities are as precious in the NBA as road wins.  That means a nervous 101-96 overtime win in Memphis should suit the Bucks just fine, even if Scott Skiles might have seen his blood pressure rise a bit in the process.  Yet again the Bucks dug themselves a deep hole early, falling behind by as many as 16 in the second quarter--before storming back with a 27-15 third quarter that tied it going into the fourth.  But unlike against the Spurs on Wednesday, the Bucks couldn't hold off a late Grizzlies' comeback, blowing an 84-76 lead with 2:26 remaining, in no small part due to turnovers on three of four possessions. 

But just as all was looking lost, Ramon Sessions (20 points, six boards, four assists) stepped up to drill a triple from the top of the key, giving the Bucks a new life that they made the most of in OT.  Following an O.J. Mayo miss and a desperation heave by Sessions to end regulation, the teams traded baskets in OT before the Bucks pulled away in the final minute.  For Memphis, Mayo was the man early with 15 first half points (and 25 total) while Rudy Gay took up the burden late (24 points), but the Bucks' more balanced effort managed to eke it out.

Three Bucks

• Prince Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.  Charlie Villanueva's future as a starter is looking decidedly bleak right now, as CV's pulled hammy paved the way for the Prince to set new career highs in both points (19) and rebounds (17).  As you might guess from his ugly shooting line (6/16), Mbah a Moute didn't have his jumper working, but the good thing about energy guys is that they don't really need it to contribute.  The Bucks outworked the Grizz on the glass all night long, with Mbah a Moute single-handedly outrebounding Memphis on the offensive glass (ten to eight).  Time and again he wriggled past Darrel Arthur, Marc Gasol and Hakim Warrick to snatch Bucks' misses, earning the Bucks' crucial second chances on a night where they made just 39% of their shots.
  
• Ramon Sessions.  OK, I think we can safely say that Sessions' Rookie-of-the-Month performance last April has now been validated--this kid's very much for real.  Playing in just his 25th game as a pro, Sessions made 8/16 shots and was again the major catalyst off the bench before joining Luke Ridnour in the backcourt in crunch time.  Just as importantly, his three with 9.2 seconds remaining kept the Bucks alive when their collapse seemed imminent.
• Luke Ridnour.  Though Richard Jefferson led the Bucks in points (26), differential (+14), and also hauled down ten boards, let's take a moment to acknowledge Ridnour's rock solid performance: 14 points, six boards, seven assists, and zero turnovers.  Sessions has deservedly been getting all the buzz of late, but Ridnour was a steadying influence all night and iced the game by going 6/6 from the line in the final minute of OT.

Three Numbers

• 62-36.  The Bucks utterly annihilated the Grizzlies on the glass, outrebounding them by 26 in total.  In fact, the Bucks grabbed nearly as many offensive rebounds (23) as the Grizzlies managed defensive boards (28), a feat I can't recall happening anytime recently.  The Bucks' poor shooting certainly created more opportunities to chalk up rebounds, but full marks to Mbah a Moute (17 total), Bogut (15), and Jefferson (10) for outworking their opponents all night.
• 7.  Bogut continues to struggle to find ways to get involved offensively, though 5/8 fg would normally suggest he needs the ball more. Still, it's hard to argue that with a straight face on a night when he also racked up seven turnovers. 
  
• 48:35.  Jefferson tallied more than a full game's worth of minutes for the second time this season, the OT game against Washington being the first.  And while his stroke was eluding him (8/26 fg, yikes), Jefferson has clearly become the Bucks' undisputed leader with Michael Redd on the sidelines--playing big minutes, being a go-to guy late, defending opponents' top wing scorers, and frequently taking his younger teammates aside for veteran wisdom.  At this point he often gets by more on savvy than pure explosiveness, but Jefferson has also shown a renewed effort on the defensive end and on the glass.  So far, so good.
  

Three Good

• Road wins are good wins.  Yes, I'm going to say this every time the Bucks get one.  The Bucks now have three road wins in six tries; they need just four more wins away from the BC to match their paltry 07/08 total of seven.  And while great teams might have the luxury of complaining when they win ugly, the Bucks should be thrilled to escape Tennessee with a win.
  
• Kiddie patrol!  With Redd and now Villanueva on the shelf, there's been plenty of opportunity for Sessions, Mbah a Moute, and Joe Alexander (who also was productive in his 13 minutes) to earn playing time in Scott Skiles' rotation.  And let's give the new coach plenty of credit, too.  Bulls fans were almost taunting us in the preseason that Skiles would prefer guys like Malik Allen and Tyronn Lue over talented but inconsistent youngsters, yet aside from the opening couple of games there's been very little of those boring old vets--and justifiably so.
• Ready to rebound.  The Bucks aren't exactly deep up front, but that hasn't prevented them from being among the league's best on the glass.  The key?  Getting above average rebounding from basically every position.  Going into tonight's game, Bogut ranked 8th out of 47 centers, Villanueva 5th out of 69 PFs, Mbah a Moute 6th out of 51 SFs, and Ridnour 6th out of 65 PGs.  Jefferson, Sessions, and Alexander are also all average or better.

Three Bad

• Sweating with the Oldies.  Like most fans, I admit to being rather biased when it comes to the bench: I'd much rather deal with the rough edges of Sessions and Alexander than watch steady-but-perpetually-below-average guys like Allen, Croshere, and Lue.  So I won't worry too much about Allen and Croshere getting some early but unproductive minutes in Memphis, though the Bucks will likely need them to contribute at some point.
• Lucking out.  Marc Iavaroni doesn't have a ton of job security in Memphis, and the Grizzlies' offensive strategy might give you some idea why.  After riding Mayo's hot hand early, the Grizz got away from the early ROY favorite for long stretches of the second half, despite the Bucks' struggles to contain Mayo in basic PnR situations from the top.  Instead, the Grizz allowed the disappointing Mike Conley--who still can't shoot or get to the rack against NBA defenses--to handle the ball most of the time.  That greatly simplified the Bucks' task.
  
• Bell's blues.  Charlie Bell's stroke still doesn't look right, which becomes all the more troubling given the Bucks' lack of scoring depth without Redd and Villanueva.  In spite of back-to-back solid efforts against Cleveland and Phoenix, Bell's 0/4 effort in Memphis now has him shooting just 32.7% for the month of November. 

It's rare that you can look forward to a game against the Spurs, but the Spurs sans Parker and Ginobili just aren't the same, are they? That was painfully clear tonight, as the Bucks stumbled their way to an ugly but hard-fought 82-78 win at the BC, rallying from a 12-point halftime deficit to pull it out in the late going.  Mike Redd was once again in street clothes, and the Bucks will be awaiting word whether Charlie Villanueva's tweaked hamstring will condem him to the sidelines as well.  How bad is it for the Spurs?  They featured a starting backcourt of rookie George Hill and journeyman Roger Mason, while someone named Anthony Tolliver also played 28 minutes.  Yikes.

Three Bucks

• Andrew Bogut.  Bogut's been taking some heat lately for his lack of offensive production, and tonight wasn't exactly a breakout game in the scoring department: 10 points, 5/10 fg, and not a single trip to the line.  But Bogut at his best does a lot more than score, and that was certainly the case tonight against a decent big man by the name of Tim Duncan.  Playing a season-high 42 minutes, Bogut grabbed 17 boards (seven offensive), dished out four assists, recorded three steals and didn't turn the ball over, something he's struggled with greatly as teams double him more frequently this year.  And with the Spurs missing two-thirds of their big three, Duncan needed 20 shots for his 24 points and grabbed just five boards along with four turnovers.  No, Bogut didn't have an answer for Duncan in the late stages, but we'll take it.  Bogut's game highlight?  Befitting of his post offense lately, it started with him mising a short hook with five minutes left in the fourth.  But rather than drop his head and sulk, he tore away the rebound from Duncan to reset the offense.  Moments later he got what he deserved, hammering a one-handed follow dunk off Charlie Bell's miss.
  
• Ramon Sessions.  At this point there doesn't seem to be much doubt that Sessions brings more to the table than Luke Ridnour, but for now there's something to be said for using Sessions' scoring ability with the offensively-challenged second unit early and then keeping him in to close games.  It wasn't a monster game for Ramon, but efficiency sure is nice to see from your young PG: 13 points on 5/7 fg along with three boards, three assists and no turnovers in 24 minutes. More importantly, it was Sessions who quarterbacked the team to a 21-2 run that gave the Bucks their first lead midway through the fourth. He also had a huge pickpocket of Tim Duncan with two minutes left and a layup past Duncan with 30 seconds to go, keeping the Spurs at arm's length.  He continues to get in the lane with ease,  in stark contrast to Ridnour--whose lack of explosiveness means he can't get much more than floaters in the lane.
• Richard Jefferson.  He didn't exactly come out guns blazing, but Jefferson got the Bucks back into it with ten in the third and added a further six in final stanza.  All told, RJ tallied 19 along, nine boards, and just one turnover--and probably enjoyed having to guard Ime Udoka and Michael Finley rather than LeBron James or Paul Pierce.

Three Numbers

• 11-8.  The Bucks are the only team to have a winning record against the Spurs in the last ten years, and they kept it up tonight against a team that didn't look too much like the Spurs of old.  I think they'll take it.
• 14.  If you're going to lay bricks all night, you better be ready to get some of them back, and the Bucks did just that with 14 offensive rebounds compared to seven for the Spurs.  It carried over to the other end as well, as the Bucks outrebounded San Antonio 47-37.
• 7.  It wasn't a big assist night for the Bucks (17), but along with their prowess on the glass they also helped themselves greatly by taking care of the ball, turning it over just seven times. 

Three Good

• Scraping one out.  Beating the Spurs in their current state isn't anything to be too proud of, but at the moment the Bucks should be focusing on surviving November. Some beautiful basketball would be great, but the Bucks aren't good enough to worry about winning ugly.
• Youth movement.  The Bucks' lack of depth has been severely tested by Redd's absence, and you can only imagine what will happen if/when more injuries come (let's hope CV can go on Friday).  As a result, Scott Skiles hasn't had too much choice but to take a look at his youngsters.  Fortunately, Sessions and Mbah a Moute (another extremely solid 11/7 night) have outplayed their starting counterparts and helped keep the Bucks afloat.  Even Joe Alexander has gotten regular minutes of late, looking (dare I say?) pretty solid.  Gold stars all around, kiddies.
• Saved by the D.  With few options outside of Tim Duncan, the Spurs aren't the most difficult team to guard right now, though Michael Finley (8/12 fg, 19 points) did his best to pick up the slack.  The Bucks also did their part in the second half, once again finding a way to buckle down on defense and turn the Spurs into a jumpshooting team while the Bucks made their 21-2 run.  In conceding just nine free throws, the Bucks also found a way to D up without much fouling, an area they've frequently struggled in so far. 

Three Bad

• Et tu, CV?  Sure, Villanueva hasn't exactly been Mr. Consistency (has he ever?), and tonight marked the first time 08/09 that Skiles gave Mbah a Moute the starting nod over CV.  Still, Villanueva's the only true PF on the roster and losing him for more than a game or two would make things awfully...uh, interesting up front.  The good news is Mbah a Moute has been better than CV anyway, but after that the pickings are slim.  Malik Allen has been largely MIA of late but would likely get some of that burn and Alexander would no doubt also get some smallball time at the 4--which unfortunately isn't his best position.  If CV is out on Saturday, expect Elson to see more time against Kevin Garnett.
• Half empty.  Scoring 15 points in the first quarter is bad; compounding it with just 16 in the second is downright miserable.  No doubt the Bucks' 12 point halftime deficit would have been a lot worse against a healthier Spurs team, but tonight one half was enough to get it done.
• Starting guards.  Bell's managed to put together a couple decent games of late, but in general he's still struggling to find his shot and doesn't look much like a starting NBA guard.  The same can be said of Ridnour, who had a hot hand in Cleveland yesterday but otherwise has been roundly outplayed by Sessions of late.  Is it just his back bothering him?  Hopefully that's the explanation.