Jennings puts on show in front of Jordan, Bucks hand Charlotte its 7th straight loss

Jennings does it again with 29, Bucks top Bobcats

MILWAUKEE — Rookie Brandon Jennings scored 29 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 95-88 victory over Charlotte on Friday night, with minority owner Michael Jordan on hand to witness his Bobcats drop their seventh straight.

Milwaukee (7-3) finished the homestand 5-1 and is off to its best start since going 9-1 in 2001, even though the Bucks were without guard Michael Redd (sprained left knee) and center Andrew Bogut (strained left leg).

Stephen Jackson, in town for the second time in seven days after being traded from the Warriors to the Bobcats, scored 22 points in his third game with his new team. Gerald Wallace added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Flip Murray had 17 points for Charlotte.

Milwaukee’s Hakim Warrick had 16 points and Ersan Ilyasova chipped in 13, but it all started with Jennings, the speedy point guard who models his game after Allen Iverson and has a surprisingly silky jump shot.

Jennings has reached double figures in all but one game, including becoming the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 50 with his 55-point effort in a win over the Warriors on Saturday night.

Jennings’ lone problem had been turnovers, committing eight against the Nets in Wednesday’s win. He corrected that, too, only making two mistakes.

The 10th pick was hot from the start against the Bobcats and hit seven of his first eight shots to score 17 points in the first quarter. He kept it going in the second half, swiping a crosscourt pass and dribbling behind his back before getting a goaltending call on his layup.

Moments later, he knocked down his third 3-pointer to make it 66-44 and Milwaukee led 76-60 after three.

The Bobcats (3-9) went on an 8-0 run early in the fourth and cut it to 93-85 with just over two minutes to go on a layup by Boris Diaw, but Murray missed two free throws and Jackson missed a 3-pointer to keep Charlotte from getting closer than the final margin.

Jordan, a managing partner in the franchise who oversees the team’s personnel decisions, watched intently from about five rows beyond Charlotte’s bench. If he enjoyed Jennings’ performance or his decision to trade for Jackson, he wouldn’t say, declining comment when approached at a timeout during the game.

Jackson started off well, too, scoring 14 points in the first quarter. But the Bobcats, who were missing center Tyson Chandler (back spasms), failed to contain Jennings, who also had seven assists.

NOTES: Jordan got a standing ovation when he was shown on the JumboTron in the fourth quarter. … Bucks coach Scott Skiles said he expected Redd to return at some point on Milwaukee’s four-game road trip that starts Saturday in Memphis. … Charlotte coach Larry Brown tied Pat Riley for fifth-most NBA games coached at 1,904. Brown has coached 2,239 pro games when combining his ABA experience.