Final Score: Shorthanded Kings Soundly Defeated by Bucks, 98 to 85

Sacramento suffered it's second loss in a row tonight as the Milwaukee Bucks, led by guards Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis as well as forwards Luc Mbah a Moute and Ersan Ilyasova, held off several Kings comeback attempts to win 98 to 85. Jennings led all scorers with 19 points and Monta Ellis had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists. Mbah a Moute added 17 points, and Ersan Ilyasova came off the bench with his own double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Sacramento did not have Center DeMarcus Cousins, suspended for performing an unwanted rendition of the Nutcracker on Monday night. Guard Marcus Thornton was also absent for personal reasons. They did get Tyreke Evans back from injury however, and while Evans was rusty and came off the bench, he finished with a team-high 17 points in about 23 minutes.

Milwaukee wasn't operating at full capacity themselves, missing former King Beno Udrih as well as Mike Dunleavy, Jr. and Ekpe Udoh, all who feature pretty heavily in their normal rotation.

Both teams shot poorly, with Milwaukee shooting just 40.6% in the win. Sacramento was at 37.2%, and were particularly errant from downtown, making just 3 of 19 attempts. Aaron Brooks and John Salmons combined to go just 2-12 from three point range. This poor shooting was especially evident early as Sacramento fell behind by double-digits in the first quarter and spent the rest of the night trying to play catch up. While they did get close at points, the Bucks were able to fend them off each time. Sacramento did not lead at any point during the game.

Ball movement and sloppiness with the ball was again a problem for Sacramento, who had just 14 assists to 17 turnovers. Meanwhile Milwaukee was able to dish out 22 assists to just 9 turnovers. A similar discrepancy occurred in Monday's blowout loss to Dallas.

The road trip ends Friday in Oklahoma City, where hopefully the Kings will be at full strength for the first time in a while. Even then, it will be a very tough task to beat an extremely talented Thunder team.

Tom will have a full recap later. For the opponent's point of view, visit Brew Hoop.