MILWAUKEE -- The answer to the Milwaukee Bucks' early-season woes does not solely lie with the return of center Andrew Bogut. But with the 7-foot Australian back with the team Tuesday night, Milwaukee snapped its five-game losing streak with a home win over the San Antonio Spurs.
After missing the last four games to attend to a personal family matter, Bogut finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass.
Bucks veteran swingman Stephen Jackson may have been exaggerating a bit about what Bogut's presence meant, but Milwaukee was clearly a much-improved team with its center back in the lineup, scoring its first win of the season against a team with a winning record.
"Not having him is just like not having air," Jackson said after scoring a season-high 34 points. "That's one of the biggest things is having our big fella back. We need him down there. Just to have him back on the court is a positive thing for the team."
One game into the Bucks' five-game Western Conference road trip last week, Bogut left the team to fly to his home in Australia. All that Bogut has said about the situation is that it was "a family emergency involving a hospital."
With Bogut out, Milwaukee lost four games in six days against the Jazz, Kings, Clippers and Suns. In Sacramento, the Bucks had a 21-point halftime lead, only to fall apart in the second half.
Despite being gone for only five days, Bogut left the team with a 2-2 record and returned to find it 2-6. During that time, Bogut did not even get to watch the Bucks because of the time difference and the fact that he was taking care of the issues that forced him to leave the team.
"I checked the stats every day," Bogut said. "I just didn't have a chance to watch the games."
Bogut was exchanging text messages with teammates throughout the week, though, adding that they were "pretty supportive of it."
It didn't take long against the Spurs to see that coach Scott Skiles wanted to emphasize Bogut offensively early in the game. On the first play, the former No. 1 overall pick was given the ball in the post and connected with a left-handed hook shot. The next time down, Bogut laid in a lob pass from Jackson.
"I thought he was good considering everything," Skiles said. "I thought he moved around the floor well, he was on the board, he was able to get some baskets for us. I thought that was good. I was happy for him."
In the second half, Bogut threw down a huge one-handed dunk on a pass from point guard Brandon Jennings that got the Bradley Center crowd on its feet. Bogut also had a two-handed jam after a great pass from Jackson.
However, Bogut wasn't thrilled with his performance.
"I was missing shots that I usually make," he said. "I wasn't too comfortable out there. I was just trying to grind it out and try to get a win for the team. I was on a plane for 40 hours there and back. Sitting on a plane when you're 7-foot is not the best, most comfortable thing in the world.
"My sleep pattern has been off. I've been getting tired at different parts of the day just from the jet lag. Other than that, my body is OK."
Most important for Bogut, being back on the court was a temporary release from the stresses that have weighed him down emotionally the past week.
"It's just good to be back working," he said. "Whenever you have circumstances like this, when you have something to focus on like your job or your hobby or your kids or whatever it is, I think it takes your attention away from what has happened and what's at hand.
"The best way for me to do it, thankfully, is we have 66 games in a short amount of time. We're on planes, off planes, around guys all the time, so I think it will be in the rearview mirror in a couple of days."
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