NBA Scores & More: Lakers Escape As Andrew Bynum Loses His Mind, Bucks And Mavs Pick Up Wins

The Bucks’ offense is what really made the difference in the game, and for the first time nearly everything the Bucks did flowed effectively through Monta Ellis. He floundered in his first six games for Bucks, but the jumpers and layups that refused to fall those other nights found the bottom of the net on Tuesday. Ellis led all scorers with 33 points on 15-24 shooting and added a team-high eight assists as he artfully mixed pick-and-roll penetration with mid-post turnarounds and transition finishes. He finally earned his first 20+ point game in a Bucks uniform, and the team needed that type of effort to hang on and get the win.

It would be tempting to say the Jennings and Ellis backcourt is finally starting to gel on a night where Ellis posted 33 points and eight assists to go with Jennings’ 18 points and six assists, but some of the success had to do with the same jumpers just going in a bit more often. After the Bucks forced Mike Dunleavy to take on the world on Monday, they shot 50.0 percent from the field against the Hawks and overcame a 50-32 disparity in the paint by stroking mid-range jumpers and taking good care of the ball.

For all of Tuesday’s NBA box scores, check out SI.com’s NBA scoreboard.