GAME REPORT BUCKS 104, KNICKS 87 News Charlotte Bobcats

ON THE COURT

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva was strong after missing four games with a hamstring pull, coming off the bench to score 20 on 8-for-12 shooting in 13 minutes. He also had six rebounds. "He was good," coach Scott Skiles said. "He had small guys on him down there and he was scoring on them. I thought he was very good."

PLAY OF THE GAME: Bucks forward Richard Jefferson hit a three-pointer to open the third quarter and the Bucks quickly extended a three-point halftime lead to 10.

STATISTICS SHEET: The Knicks made two of 21 three-point shots through three quarters (9.5%) and ended up making seven of 30 from beyond the arc (23.3%)."Our three-point defense statistically is pretty good," Skiles said. "But I also felt like they missed some."

OFF THE BENCH: To make room for Villanueva on the roster, the Bucks put center Dan Gadzuric on the inactive list for the game.

UP NEXT

TEAMS: Bucks (6-8) vs. Charlotte Bobcats (3-8).

WHEN: 6 tonight.

WHERE: Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

BROADCASTS: TV - FSN. Radio - AM-620.

ABOUT THE Bobcats: The Bobcats have an abundance of home games in the first month of the season but so far haven't been able to take advantage of their schedule. After playing two more home games against the Bucks and then Philadelphia on Monday, Charlotte will have played nine of its first 11 at home.

PLAYER TO WATCH

D.J. AUGUSTIN, Bobcats

The 6-foot point guard from Texas was the ninth overall pick in the draft last summer and has been pushing starter Raymond Felton for playing time. Among rookies, Augustin ranks third in assists (3.5), second in free-throw percentage (92.6%) and ninth in minutes (24.5) and in scoring (10.0).

LINEUPS

PROBABLE Bobcats STARTERS

Player Ht. From

G-Raymond Felton 6-1 N. Carolina

G-Matt Carroll 6-6 Notre Dame

F-Sean May 6-9 N. Carolina

F-Gerald Wallace 6-7 Mich. State

C-Emeka Okafor 6-10 Connecticut

Coach: Larry Brown (first season; 24th overall, 1,013-808).

Injury report: Jason Richarson (right knee) is out.

PROBABLE Bucks STARTERS

Player Ht. From

G-Luke Ridnour 6-2 Oregon

G-Charlie Bell 6-3 Mich. State

F-Richard Jefferson 6-7 Arizona

F-LR Mbah a Moute 6-8 UCLA

C-Andrew Bogut 7-0 Utah

Coach: Scott Skiles (first season; ninth overall, 287-259).

Injury report: Michael Redd (right ankle) and Charlie Villanueva (hamstring) are day to day.

THE SERIES

The Bucks were 2-1 against the Bobcats last season, including 1-1 in Charlotte.

NUMBERS GAME

3-5 Charlotte's home record.

104 Okafor's team-record streak of consecutive games played.

COMING UP

MONDAY: 6 p.m. at Amway Arena. Bucks vs. Orlando Magic. TV - FSN. Radio - AM-1250.

NOTEBOOK

NUMBERS GAME: Milwaukee is facing a study in contrasts on consecutive nights. Against New York, the Bucks were playing the highest-scoring team in the league (105.3 points per game). Tonight, they face Charlotte, the lowest-scoring team in the league (88.3).

Tom Enlund