Brandon Jennings, who dominated the third quarter by scoring 18 of his 20 points in the period, led the Milwaukee Bucks to a 109-102 win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
''I just started being more aggressive,'' The Associated Press quoted Jennings as saying. ''I was just trying to figure out a way to pick us up.''
For the Bucks, Jennings scored 20 points, seven assists and chipped in six rebounds, Monta Ellis also added 20 points; Ersan Ilyasova had 18, while Larry Sanders finished with 16 points.
Golden State took a three-point lead in the first quarter by outscoring the Bucks 26-23. They again outscored Milwaukee 29-28 in the second quarter.
The Warriors entered the second half with four-point lead.
Jennings scored 18 points in the third quarter, whereas the Warriors added only 19 as a team, which is a clear proof of Jennings' dominance in the period. He hit three consecutive 3-pointers and turned the Warriors' first half four-point lead into the Bucks' nine-point lead at the end of the third quarter. In the game-changing third period, the Bucks outshined Golden State 35-19.
''Once I get it going, I get it going. I think it fed off to my teammates,'' Jennings said. ''They got it going. Larry (Sanders) started getting some blocks and Sam Dalembert even came in and gave us some good minutes.''
Milwaukee coach Jim Boylan was confident that Jennings would give tough competition to the Warriors.
''He's a competitor,'' Boylan said. ''He was trying to move the ball a little bit in the first half, but we needed him to score. He came out in the second half and did what we needed him to do for our team, and that's what he's done for us all year. That's what we expect from him.''
For the Warriors, Stephen Curry was the top scorer with 26 points and seven assists, Klay Thompson contributed with 19 points, and David Lee had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Jarrett Jack finished with 13 points and 10 assists for Golden State, who have lost four straight games in Milwaukee.
''Regardless of who you are playing, if you don't put forth that effort for 48 minutes, you aren't going to beat anybody,'' Golden State guard Jack said.
''I just try to have concerted effort, try to come in and give my team energy. We had kind of a down period in the third quarter, coming out of halftime. They made tough shots to go along with it.''
Jennings hit two free throws to extend the Bucks' lead to 105-98 in the fourth quarter, but Lee cut the Warriors' lead to five points with less than 15 seconds remaining. Then Ellis had two free throws to increase the Bucks' lead to 107-100.He added two more free throws at the end. Golden Gate outscored the Bucks 28-23 in the fourth quarter, but they still lost the game by seven points.
Golden State were outrebounded by the Bucks 50-58 in the game.
''We've got to get back to who we are,'' coach Mark Jackson said. ''We're not rebounding at the same level and it's hurting us. It's costing us ballgames. When you allow a team to dominate you on the boards and get second-chance points it sucks the life out of your defense.''
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