Ellis' near triple-double leads Bucks past Portland

Milwaukee, WI – Monta Ellis registered 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 102-95, on Tuesday.

Brandon Jennings had a team-high 24 points along with seven assists for the Bucks, who have won two in a row since a three-game slide.

Samuel Dalembert added 16 points and seven rebounds, while J.J. Redick scored 14 points off the bench and Larry Sanders recorded eight points and 13 rebounds in the victory.

Wesley Matthews had a game-high 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting for the Trail Blazers, who lost their second straight game. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 15 rebounds and Nicolas Batum tallied 15 points.

"We didn't play well," Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said. "It wasn't good basketball."

Entering the second quarter, the Bucks had a 27-23 edge. However, Milwaukee began the period on a 16-0 run to take a 20-point lead with 6:40 remaining. J.J. Hickson finally stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws with 6:03 to go, but Portland found it difficult to come back.

Portland mustered just eight points on 10 percent shooting in the quarter.

The Bucks finished the first half on an 11-2 spurt, capped by a 3-pointer by Jennings, and they would lead 58-31 at halftime.

Portland improved in the third, outscoring the Bucks by a 26-19 count and shooting 45.5 percent from the field. Aldridge scored 10 points in the frame.

However, Portland was still down 77-57 entering the fourth quarter.

Aldridge scored another 11 points in the final period, and the Blazers scored 38 on 70 percent shooting. They got within seven at 100-93, with 1:32 left, but it was too little and too late.

"I liked our focus in the first half. I thought we slipped a little bit in the second half, but I feel like there's something for us to build on," Bucks head coach Jim Boylan said.

Game Notes

Matthews connected on a career-high seven 3-pointers ... Dalembert scored 10 points in the first quarter ... Portland failed to score a fastbreak point ... Milwaukee swept Portland in the season series for the second straight season ... Portland is 13-14 against Eastern Conference teams.