Bucks top Wizards, inch closer to Knicks

Six players scored in double figures for the Bucks, who shot 52 percent and outrebounded the Wizards 48-35. Milwaukee now returns home for a five-game homestand that starts with Cleveland, Charlotte and Portland — all teams with losing records.

Milwaukee stayed more or less in command after closing the first quarter with a 15-2 run that featured another round of Wizards follies. Rookie Shelvin Mack had an especially rough sequence, losing his dribble without provocation to give the Bucks a fast break, and then throwing the ball out of bounds — a pass to nobody in particular — on the next possession.

But the Bucks were making mistakes, as well. Ellis finished with five of the team's 19 turnovers, and the third quarter devolved into truly uninspiring basketball, with the teams combining for five turnovers in 38 seconds.

The Wizards threatened to make a game of it with a 9-0 run that cut the lead to two early in the third quarter, but Jennings then took over. He made two finger-roll layups and a pair of free throws in a 10-0 run, then hit another driving layup in a 6-0 spurt. Jennings' 17 points in the period wasn't far behind Washington's team total of 22.

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The Wizards pulled within seven early in the fourth quarter on Roger Mason's 3-pointer, but the Bucks responded with a 21-7 run that put the game away.

Notes: Milwaukee G Beno Udrih sat out after injuring his left hand in Saturday's loss to Memphis, and F-G Carlos Defino missed his fourth consecutive game with an injured right groin. ... The Bucks lead the season series 3-0 with one game remaining. ... Washington ended a streak of nine straight games in which it allowed fewer than 100 points. The improved defense didn't translate into success in the standings: The Wizards went 2-7 during those games.