Sixth Sense: Milwaukee Bucks 116, Portland Trail Blazers 87

(Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-US PRESSWIRE)

The Bucks won their sixth straight game doing what they have done best of late: passing.

Tonight, they racked up 35 assists, reaching the 30-assist mark for the fourth consecutive game (and fifth in six games).  Monta Ellis led the team with nine assists.  The Bucks became the first team to notch four straight 30+ assist games since Steve Nash led the Phoenix Suns to the same feat in 2007.

The great ball movement spurred a balanced scoring attack.  Six Bucks scored in double figures, including Drew Gooden with a team-high 19 points (17 in the first half).  Carlos Delfino scored 16, while Beno Udrih, Mike Dunleavy, and Brandon Jennings each finished with 15.

MVP: Monta Ellis

“It’s great with the offense that we have. If you pass the ball, you’re gonna get it back.”

14 points, 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 block.  He was setting his teammates up all over the floor.  Like this:

LVP: 

When a team shoots 57.8% from the field and 52.4% from three-point range while holding the opponent to 35.4% shooting there is no least valuable player.

Only Ekpe Udoh (1/3 FG) and Larry Sanders (0/1) shot less than 50% from the field.  The other nine Bucks with field goal attempts all hit half their shots or better.

This should GREATLY please you:  Bench defense

What happens when you bring Udoh and Luc Mbah a Moute off the bench?  The opposition’s bench shoots 2-for-29 from the field including missing their first 22 shots.  That’s not going to happen every night, and Beno (4 steals) should get some credit, too.  But it’s a fine luxury for Scott Skiles to have two elite defenders in his back pocket.

Stating the obvious:  Udoh and his 7’5″ wingspan are long.  It seems like he blocks a shot on every other possession when he is on the floor. With 4 blocks tonight, he was not far off that pace.

This should worry you: The Bucks have a tough week ahead.

The Bucks have won six straight games, but they still trail New York by half a game in the Eastern Conference race for the eighth seed.  The tilt against Boston in the Bradley Center on Thursday triggers a stretch of five games in six nights, including dates against the Celtics and Knicks — the two teams they are chasing.

Tweets of the Night:

@shighkinNBA:  Nothing annoys me more than Felton deciding to care after Nate gets fired.