Bucks' bench shines, Milwaukee tops Chicago

MILWAUKEE(AP) With Andrew Bogut ailing, Dan Gadzuric had a big game off the bench.The
seldom-used center had 11 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks, and
fellow reserve Charlie Villanueva scored 11 of his 23 points in the
fourth quarter to lift the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 97-90
Wednesday night."I feel Danny has had a good year so far,'' said
Bucks coach Scott Skiles, whose team snapped a four-game skid. "He's
played with energy almost every game. He's done something productive
almost every game.''But energy only goes so far, especially
since Gadzuric signed a $36 million, six-year contract after starting
81 games in 2005 but has since made 15 starts and averaged four points.
His bloated contract was one of the reasons the Bucks fired general
manager Larry Harris in March and replaced him with John Hammond, who
hired Skiles.So, what happened Wednesday night?"I just
felt real good,'' Gadzuric said. "I just came out with a lot of energy
and did what I needed to do, helped my teammates on the help side,
blocked shots, rebounding, setting picks.''He came through when it counted on offense and defense and got a big pat on the back from Skiles for his effort.Milwaukee
was cruising until late in the third quarter, when Ben Gordon scored 15
straight points for the Bulls to cut it to 76-72 heading into the
fourth."We made our run, we just weren't able to sustain it,'' said Gordon, who finished with 22 points.Villanueva
hit his first five shots of the fourth quarter as Milwaukee went on a
13-3 run that included a pretty give-and-go on the fast break between
Villanueva and Ramon Sessions as the Bucks stretched it back to 89-75."I
do what I try to do best, give energy to the team,'' Villanueva said.
"Coach wants me to do that, which is one of the reasons I'm on the
second unit. I can provide that.''Chicago fought back behind top
draft pick Derrick Rose. He converted consecutive three-point plays,
cutting the lead to 93-88 with 1:56 left.Gadzuric and Gordon
traded free throws to make it 95-90 with 1:02 to play, but Rose missed
a layup with 37 seconds to go after Gadzuric got in the way."I made him alter the shot a little bit. He twisted around in the air,'' Gadzuric said.Rose, who had 18 points and nine assists along with five turnovers in 43 minutes, thought he was hit on the play."A
little bump, but I can't complain about it. They didn't call it. No
excuses from me,'' Rose said. "That's going to be with any team now,
they're just going to wait for me, knowing I'm a driver. I've got to
get used to it.''On the ensuing possession, Michael Redd found
Richard Jefferson in the lane, but Jefferson's off-balance shot fell
short of the rim to Gadzuric, who hit the layup for the final points of
the game with 14 seconds left."The ball came my way. I was
working before the possession, trying to be in the right spot and
luckily it came right to me,'' Gadzuric said. "All I had to do is jump
up and put it back in there.''The only reason Gadzuric was in
down the stretch was after Bogut was hit in the head in the third
quarter and did not return because of a migraine headache, which the
Australian has long suffered from. But Gadzuric made his minutes count."We
knew he had the potential to play like that,'' said Redd, who had 13
points. "Playing hard, rebound and blocking shots and scoring a little
bit. If he could do that on a consistent basis, that'd be great.''At least Milwaukee got it for one night.Notes:
Luol Deng scored 21 points and Larry Hughes had 13 for Chicago. ...
Jefferson scored 21 points and Luke Ridnour had 12 points and 10
assists for Milwaukee. ... It was Bogut's first action since missing
three games with a bruised left knee... Bucks G Charlie Bell visited
the doctor in Indianapolis who performed offseason ankle surgery to get
another opinion on his sore right ankle. ... According to Forbes' list,
the Bucks are the least valuable NBA franchise at $278 million. Chicago
is the third-most valuable, worth $504 million.