NEW ORLEANS _ With the way the Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans play, there was no question Wednesday night's game was going to include plenty of offense.
A fast-paced, high-energy game stayed tight until the final six minutes of the fourth quarter. That's when the Pelicans kept their offensive onslaught going and the Bucks faded on the way to a 115-108 loss that snapped Milwaukee's three-game winning streak.
In a game that featured 10 ties and 17 lead changes, there were plenty of runs to be had. Milwaukee opened the fourth quarter with one of the largest uninterrupted spurts, taking a seven-point advantage with a 9-0 stretch. New Orleans bounced right back, using a 12-4 run over three-plus minutes to take a 99-98 lead with 7:01 left.
That's when Bucks coach Jason Kidd brought back starters Khris Middleton and John Henson, but he left starting point guard Eric Bledsoe on the bench and kept DeAndre Liggins in the game.
Shortly after play resumed, Bledsoe went to the scorer's table to await his chance to check in. He watched as the teams traded buckets back and forth, with Middleton nailing a corner 3 to pull the Bucks back within one with 5:34 remaining.
That was the last Milwaukee hoop Bledsoe would witness from his perch on the sideline. Not because he checked in, but because the Bucks didn't score again until he did.
Pelicans guard E'Twaun Moore scored on a 7-footer, Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon missed a runner, DeMarcus Cousins emphatically threw down a missed 3-pointer by Jameer Nelson and Jrue Holiday added a layup with 3:39 left that put the Pelicans up 108-101 _ their largest lead of the game _ and prompted Kidd to call a timeout to get Bledsoe in the game.
It was too little, too late. Milwaukee scored on back-to-back possessions out of the timeout to pull within three but never got closer.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 32 points on 13 of 24 shooting while DeMarcus Cousins (26 points, 13 rebounds) and Anthony Davis (25 points, 10 rebounds) carried the Pelicans to the win. As a team, New Orleans made 13 of 25 3-pointers, including Cousins' back-breaker with 22 seconds left.
