First-half success has helped the Milwaukee Bucks remain unbeaten in their last three games and they'll try to maintain their hot starts Monday against the much-improved Charlotte Bobcats.
Milwaukee has scored 60-plus points before halftime in each of its past three games and came out on top in a 117-113 shootout with New Orleans on Saturday at the Bradley Center. Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings each had 22 points and nine assists, helping the Bucks improve to 6-2 on the season.
Mike Dunleavy added 17 points and Samuel Dalembert had 15 in a winning cause for Milwaukee, which sank a season-high 13-of-25 3-pointers and scored 25 points on 20 turnovers by the Hornets.
The Bucks were 11-1 a season ago when making at least 10 3-pointers.
"It was almost like an old Western Conference game -- high-scoring," Dunleavy said. "It was 91-91 at the end of the third, and there just wasn't a whole lot of defense being played."
The Bucks are off to their best start since a 7-1 record back in 2001-02, and all five starters scored in double figures for the first time this season.
Milwaukee is 3-0 on the road this season, the best start to a road schedule since winning four in a row as the guest in 2001-02. It will visit the Miami Heat Wednesday. In other Bucks news, Jennings is first in the NBA in steals with 3.25 per game and has recorded multiple steals in eight of his last nine contests dating back to last season.
Charlotte is still three wins shy of last season's total (7-59) and will resume its four-game homestand Monday.
The Bobcats had a season-best three-game winning streak cut short with Saturday's 94-87 loss to Memphis, as Byron Mullens' 18 points and Kemba Walker's 17 weren't enough to pull the team out of a 17-point hole in the fourth quarter. Walker has scored in double figures in each of the team's eight games.
Charlotte had 18 turnovers converted into 25 points for the Grizzlies.
Rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Ramon Sessions scored 12 points apiece for a Charlotte team that shot 37.6 percent. Hakim Warrick made his Charlotte debut and ended with five points and four rebounds.
Charlotte has been playing stingy defense over the previous four games, holding opponents to 88.5 points per game. Kidd-Gilchrist is averaging 13.5 points per game in the past four, while Mullens owns averages of 11.5 points, and 11.0 rebounds in that stretch.
The Bobcats, who also will host Toronto and Atlanta on this residency, lost two of three encounters with the Bucks last season and four of six overall. These two teams have split the 14 meetings in Charlotte.
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