It's only been two games, but Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh have turned the already-hot Milwaukee Bucks into a dominant team.
Tuesday night in Portland, Ellis helped the Bucks cruise to another decisive road victory, beating the Trail Blazers, 116-87. That is the sixth straight win for Milwaukee, the longest streak in the NBA.
"We're 2-0 with them in the lineup, so we'll take it," coach Scott Skiles said after the game on "Bucks Live" on FOX Sports Wisconsin.
In the Bucks' two wins in this short road trip, they outscored Golden State and Portland by a total of 51 points. In both games, Milwaukee had six players score in double figures.
The 29-point win over the Blazers was the fourth consecutive road win for the Bucks. It was also the first victory in Portland since 2006.
In this winning streak for Milwaukee, the team's offense has been nearly flawless. They have scored at least 105 points in each game and are doing so by distributing the ball very efficiently. Tuesday's win was the fourth straight game in which the Bucks recorded at least 32 assists.
"We really moved the ball well again," Skiles said.
Ellis had a team-high nine assists, with Brandon Jennings adding six. The backcourt duo of Ellis and Jennings had more assists than the entire Blazers team.
Skiles also got great production from the bench, with Mike Dunleavy and Beno Udrih each scoring 15 points. Milwaukee's reserve unit outscored Portland's, 45-9.
"It kind of tilted the game a little bit in the first half when both teams went to their benches, and we kind of took control of the game," Skiles said.
Though Udoh's contributions will rarely reflect in the box score, scoring two points in two games so far with the Bucks, his presence defensively has impressed Skiles.
"I thought he was very good again," Skiles said of Udoh. "He was very good around the rim. Overall defensively, it's hard for guards to even penetrate by him. For only being around a few days, he's got our defense principles down."
Udoh has averaged 17.5 minutes in his two games with Milwaukee and has become the primary backup center behind Drew Gooden.
With the New York Knicks also winning Tuesday, the Bucks remain just ½ game out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. After parting ways with coach Mike D'Antoni, the Knicks -- which had lost six in a row -- have now won four in a row. Milwaukee is three games back from the seventh-place Boston Celtics, with a Thursday matchup between the two teams taking place Thursday at the Bradley Center. The Bucks and Knicks will also play two more times this season.
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