Milwaukee, WI (Basketball News) - Michael Redd scored 35 points and dished out six assists, as the Milwaukee Bucks overcame a career-high 48 points from Charlie Villanueva to beat the Toronto Raptors, 125-116, in overtime at the Bradley Center.
Charlie Bell netted a career-high 18 points and added 11 assists, and Joe Smith contributed 19 points off the bench for the Bucks, which snapped a two- game skid.
Charlie Villanueva went 20-of-32 from the field and pulled down nine rebounds, Morris Peterson added 17 points and Mike James added 11 points and 10 assists for Toronto, which has lost two of its last three games. Chris Bosh left the game after playing less than seven minutes due to a sprained left thumb and did not return.
Villanueva’s 48 points were the most by a Raptor this season and set a new franchise mark for points by a rookie.
Tied at 109 in overtime, Villanueva remained red-hot, sinking a turn-around jumper with about 3 1/2 minutes left to put Toronto ahead. A Redd layup at the other end tied the score, and after a Toni Kukoc running one-hander dropped, the Bucks held a 113-111 lead.
Matt Bonner countered with a three from the wing to temporarily put Toronto back in front, but Redd immediately drained a three to give the Bucks the lead, 116-114, with 2:13 to play.
A left-handed slam by Smith pushed Milwaukee’s lead to 118-114, and after a Toronto turnover, Smith took a dish from Redd but was fouled. He made both free throws to give the Bucks a 120-114 advantage with 45.5 ticks to play.
Peterson badly missed an off-balance three, and Redd, who secured the rebound, was immediately fouled. Toronto head coach Sam Mitchell, who thought Peterson was fouled, was assessed a technical foul and Redd made all three free throws to push Milwaukee’s lead to 123-114.
After a quick two from Villanueva, Kukoc sank two free throws at the other end to make it 125-116. A Villanueva three was too strong at the other end and Milwaukee dribbled out the clock to seal the win.
Down by three at the half, Toronto finally took the lead after a jumper from Peterson with 8:42 left gave the Raptors a 62-61 advantage. That was part of a 9-1 run that pushed Toronto’s lead to 67-62.
A Redd three-pointer later in the quarter made it 78-78, but an Eric Williams’ bank shot and a free throw from Darrick Martin gave the Raptors a slim 86-83 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Toronto opened the fourth frame on a 5-0 run capped by a Villanueva jumper to take a 91-83 lead early in the stanza. But Milwaukee responded with an 11-2 run highlighted by a three from Bell to take a 94-93 lead with 8:09 left.
The teams see-sawed, until with the score tied at 102-102, Villanueva connected on a jump hook in the lane to give the Raptors a slight edge. A driving layup by Redd tied the game, and Villanueva and Bobby Simmons traded three’s to make it 107-107 with about two minutes left in regulation.
Two Smith free throws, the last of which came with 23.4 seconds left, gave Milwaukee a 109-107 lead. After a timeout, Peterson drove the baseline but missed the layup. A Villanueva rebound and putback, however, tied the game at 109 with 9.2 seconds left.
Redd’s layup as time expired rolled off the rim and the game went to overtime.
Bell scored the Bucks’ last five points of the first quarter to give Milwaukee a 27-22 lead after the opening 12 minutes. Bosh left with a sprained thumb after playing under seven minutes and Milwaukee went on a 13-4 run with Bosh on the bench.
Jermaine Jackson’s jumper with 9:01 left in the second quarter pushed the Bucks’ lead to 35-25 before the Raptors began to chip away at the deficit. A Villanueva jumper with 2:26 left pulled Toronto within two at 48-46 and two Bonner free throws over a minute later tied the game at 52-52.
With game at 54-54, Bell connected on a three from the corner with 2.1 seconds remaining to give Milwaukee a 57-54 lead at halftime.
Milwaukee Bucks 
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