Bucks win home opener by topping Kings

The Bucks shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, led by Michael Redd, who scored 18 of his team-high 26 in the half on 6-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-5 from behind the arc.

Bogut ended with 21 points and eight rebounds and Mo Williams had 15 points and 12 assists for the Bucks.

Villanueva scored 25 and pulled in seven rebounds despite a calf injury that kept him out of the fourth quarter of Milwaukee’s 109-92 loss in Toronto Friday. The Bucks have won two of their first three.

Bogut and the Bucks dominated the third quarter, as he scored 15 of Milwaukee’s 37 points to turn a six-point halftime deficit into a 15-point Buck lead going into the fourth. The Kings only managed 16 points in the third quarter.

The Milwaukee lead, which swelled to 19 late in the fourth quarter, never fell below double digits late in the final period.

John Salmons came off the Sacramento bench to lead all Kings reserves with 18 points. Kevin Martin and Shareef Abdur-Rahim each scored 15 for the Kings, who have lost two of their first three.

Two Ron Artest steals fueled an 8-0 Kings run to stretch their lead to 10 at 52-42 with 1:25 left in the first half. The Bucks were able to cut the lead to six, though, at 55-49 going into halftime.

Artest picked up two quick personal fouls in the game’s first three minutes, and the Bucks took advantage of his absence to take a 30-27 lead into the second quarter.

Game Notes

Milwaukee had lost its last four, and nine of its last 10, to Sacramento...Redd missed his first free throw of the year in the first quarter. He had hit his first 12 in a row...Milwaukee actually shot better from behind the three-point-arc than from the field overall, 52.9 percent to 52.8.