MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Michael Redd, Joe Smith and the Milwaukee Bucks earned a rare home win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Redd scored 26 points and Smith added 16 and nine rebounds as the Bucks defeated the 76ers, 95-91, for just their third win in the last 11 meetings at the Bradley Center.
Desmond Mason contributed 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting off the bench for Milwaukee, which connected on 51 percent of its attempts (37-of-72) and limited Philadelphia to 41 percent (36-of-86).
"They have a lot of great players on that team," Sixers forward Kenny Thomas said. "You can't let their shooters get hot or it will be a long night. We let Michael Redd get off early and he was hot the rest of the game."
Redd, who made half of his 22 shots, scored 16 points in the first half as Milwaukee took a 50-43 lead into the break.
"I don't know about being the go-to guy," Redd said. "I just want to go out and play basketball and have fun. My confidence is getting better every game. Tonight I took my time, tried not to force the issue and just let it come."
Philadelphia trailed by nine points early in the fourth quarter but pulled within 91-88 on a tipped shot by Thomas with 1:17 left. Rookie point guard T.J. Ford, who had 10 points and nine assists, sank a pair of free throws 30 seconds later and Mason blocked Thomas from behind in the lane on the Sixers' ensuing possession.
"The closer it gets to the end of the game, the better the defense gets," said Ford, who also had a pair of steals. "The guys in this league play to win, so when it's an emergency and they need a stop, they step up the defense."
Matched up against the equally quick Ford, Allen Iverson scored 28 points but made just 12-of-30 shots for the Sixers, who placed forward Glenn Robinson on the injured list before the game with a sprained left ankle.
"I thought (Ford) did a great job on (Iverson)," Bucks coach Terry Porter said. "Obviously, Iverson is a great player, we just asked (Ford) to keep in front of him and work him as much as possible. If he happens to get by, rely on his teammates for help. He got 30 shots, made 12 of them, but I thought T.J. did a great job of not allowing him to take over the game."
"He's going to get better and better," Iverson said. "Everyone in this league is talented. What I look for in a player is the heart and their toughness. In T.J., I see heart and I see toughness. He's going to be a good player in this league."
Derrick Coleman returned after missing six games with a knee injury and scored 14 points for Philadelphia. Thomas added 12 and 15 rebounds for the Sixers, who outscored the Bucks in the paint, 50-40.
"I thought our lack of defensive intensity hurt us tonight," 76ers coach Randy Ayers said. "We've been getting down in games early and it has been killing us. I was disappointed in the lack of calls when we took the ball to the basket, but that's out of our control. The combination of calls and our lack of defense lost the game for us tonight."
