Jennings, Ilyasova help Bucks win in Portland

 
No Author Published: January 20, 2013    Comment on this article Leave a comment

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Jim Boylan era is starting well for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Brandon Jennings had 30 points and eight assists, Ersan Ilyasova added a season-high 27 points and 14 rebounds, and the Bucks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 110-104 Saturday night to win for the fifth time in seven games since Boylan was promoted to replace Scott Skiles as coach.

photo - Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings, left, reacts after scoring as Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum, from France, walks by during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings, left, reacts after scoring as Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum, from France, walks by during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

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"I'm really proud of the guys," Boylan said. "They've really responded well to the coaching change. We've got our eyes on the future and that's where we are going."

Damian Lillard had 26 points and 10 assists for Portland, which has lost a season-high five straight games. LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Wesley Matthews added 21 points.

Mike Dunleavy had 14 points and Monta Ellis added 13 for Milwaukee. Ilyasova was 10 of 14 from the field, making all three of his 3-point attempts and all four of his free throws.

The Bucks went 3-1 while on a weeklong road trip. Milwaukee was coming off a historic victory of sorts, beating the Suns 115-107 Thursday night for their first win in Phoenix since the 1986-87 season, ending a stretch of 24 consecutive losses. The Bucks kicked off the trip by beating Toronto. They now head home to host Philadelphia.

Boylan, a longtime NBA assistant who was once interim head coach in Chicago, took over when the team parted ways with fifth-year coach Skiles on Jan. 8 amid talk that Skiles was unhappy with the personnel makeup of his team and looking to leave.

"He's done a really good job," Ilyasova said of Boylan. "When you look at our record from the point when he became head coach, we play more together, we share the ball well, we have a couple of new plays we execute well, and we're finally finding our rhythm."

Portland was one of the hottest teams in the NBA after winning 12 of 15 games between Dec. 10 and Jan. 10. But the Blazers struggled with closing out games of late, losing each of their last five by six points or less. Part of the problem has been a tendency to fall behind and dig too big of a hole.

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