Just the way they drew it up. No sweat.

"We wanted to get Luke off the high screen," coach Scott Skiles said. "We thought they might switch and he could possibly take somebody (off the dribble) or throw it back to Charlie V. He was able to go behind his back, it was a great play getting into the paint and he made a great shot. Luckily it rolled around (the rim) a little bit, too, and some time ran off."

Said Villanueva, "We wanted to get the ball in Luke's hands and I'd set the screen and he'd be the playmaker. He makes the decision whether he penetrates or picks-and-pops and gives it to the open man. He made a big shot for us."

Michael Redd scored 15 points in the first quarter and led Milwaukee with 24 points. Villanueva added 23 off the bench.

"I just wanted to be aggressive and set the tone for the game," Redd said about his big first quarter.

Vince Carter led the Nets with 23 points and 14 assists. Former Bucks forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, for New Jersey, which shot 52.8% and made 16 three-point shots. Yi was booed during pregame introductions and whenever he touched the ball. He left the game late in the third quarter and did not return because of a broken finger.

"We had a lot of great moments tonight," Skiles said. "Obviously, we had great difficulty guarding them off the dribble all night long, which led to a lot of those threes. But we also had moments of really good energy and ball movement.

"I thought Mike was outstanding again. They were really coming to him hard in the second half and he moved the ball around and we were able to get some offense off that. But we had a very difficult time slowing them down and stopping them at all."

Both teams were short-handed. Milwaukee native Devin Harris did not play for the Nets because of a hamstring injury and center Andrew Bogut missed his fourth game with back spasms. Bogut is hoping to play tonight against the Timberwolves in Minnesota.

Although the Bucks prevailed in the end, the score got way too close for comfort down the stretch.

Milwaukee scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter - including a jumper and three-pointer by Charlie Bell - to take an 86-75 lead. The Bucks stretched their lead to 95-82 with 6 minutes 32 seconds left but the Nets drilled 3 three-pointers to cut it to 97-93 with 4:28 left.

Redd hit a three-pointer and a fadeaway and Milwaukee led, 102-97, with 2:05 left. But the Nets weren't done. Carter made two free throws with 1:09 left and, after the Bucks failed to score on two possessions, New Jersey came out of a timeout with 17.1 seconds left. Carter penetrated and dished to Simmons, who hit a three-pointer from in front of the Bucks bench to tie the score at 102-102 with 9 seconds left.

That set the stage for Ridnour's winner.

It was a little rough around the edges at times but in the end it was a satisfying victory for the Bucks.

"Very, very, very," Villanueva said. "We let them get back into the game, which we have to work on, but guys were poised and played with a lot of energy and that was a big shot at the end as well."

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