CRAZY NIGHT --- In more ways than one. Again, my apologies for abruptly ending the game thread. We're still having wireless problems at KeyArena. I'm working on it. Really. When the team returns, this shouldn't be a problem again.

SOME QUICK STATS --- Redd scored a game-high 41 points. Wilcox finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. However, he had just 1 point in the second half. Watson was fantastic with 13 points, 9 assists in 40 minutes. Nick Collison and Wally Szczerbiak had 12 off the bench.

THREE OUT OF FOUR --- The 104-98 win is a nice way to finish off the 4-game home stand and start a 5-game road trip.

CAREER HIGHS --- Durant tied career highs with 35 points and 8 rebounds. He also had 5 blocks.

DURANT TAKING OVER --- On both ends of the court, the rookie is dominating. He's defending Redd and giving him fits because of his length. I think Durant has 4 blocks. And the rookie is carrying Seattle offensively. The Sonics are up 96-90.

WATSON ENDURES --- He played the entire third quarter. However, Gelabale is back in. Let's see if Milwaukee makes a run.

DURANT ARRIVES --- First he blocks Redd's three-point attempt with his left hand late in the third. Then he ends the period with a fastbreak dunk over Royal Ivey. Got to give kudos to Watson for a nice alley-oop pass outside the three-point arc. Seattle leads 73-68.

BUCKS BACK IN IT --- Mo Williams drained a pair of FTs that gave Milwaukee a 67-66 lead. It's there first lead since the first quarter.

REDD LEADS THE WAY --- Predictably, Redd has a game-high 16 points. Bogut has 12 points and 6 rebounds. Wilcox is bouncing back nicely from an off night Wednesday. He's got 13 points and 9 rebounds. Durant has 11 points and Watson 8.

HALFTIME --- This game looks a lot like the last one, which is good for the Sonics. They lead 53-49, but it's been an evenly played first half. Both teams are shooting 42.6 percent (20 of 47) from the field. Milwaukee is shooting better on 3s (3 of 6), but the difference is Seattle's FT shooting. The Sonics are 10 for 11 while the Bucks are 6 of 7.

WATSON RETURNS --- He'll probably play 36-38 minutes tonight.

GELLY NOT JAM --- With backup PG Mickael Gelabale on the court, the Bucks have cut the Sonics' deficit to three points (35-32). Apparently, Ridnour is not playing tonight, which is surprising because Carlesimo said he planned on using him.

THE YI FACTOR --- I know I'm supposed to have the answers, but will somebody explain to me why the Sonics didn't take Yi Jianlian with the No. 5 pick. I've been accused by some of you of not liking Jeff Green, which is not true. I've wrote it before and I'll write it again, I think he's probably the toughest player on the squad. I just think he doesn't have a go-to move offensively and at 6-9 he's too small to defend PFs in the Western Conference. I believe he's better suited to play SF, which is the spot that Kevin Durant will eventually play so there's going to be a log jam there some day soon.

Back to Yi. He might have been a smarter pick. He certainly would have helped the cash-strapped Sonics who claimed $14 million losses last season because of his marketability to the Pacific Rim. When chairman Clay Bennett led the Oklahoma City group that purchased the Sonics last year he talked extensively about the viability of the franchise to market to Asian countries. Imagine the sponsorship possibilities surrounding Yi, only the NBA's second Chinese player, in a place like Seattle that has a large Asian community.

The Sonics issued 12 extra press credentials to Chinese media for tonight's game.

I was told the Supes passed on him because he isn't their type of player, which is to suggest that he's not a gritty defender.

And drafting Yi makes sense now, but there would have been more than a few jokes on draft day if the Sonics had taken a 7-foot project for the fourth straight year.

So far, Yi has just 2 points on 1-for-3 shooting and no rebounds.

FIRST QUARTER STATS --- Sonics lead 31-24. Chris Wilcox leads all scorers with 10 points on 5 for 6 shooting. Earl Watson has 8 points and 2 assists. Andrew Bogut has 8 points for Milwaukee and Michael Redd 7.

RIDNOUR SET TO PLAY --- Luke Ridnour is on the court and should log about 12-15 minutes tonight, according to coach P.J. Carlesimo.

STARTING LINEUPS

Milwaukee
F -- Desmond Mason
F -- Yi Jianlian
C -- Andrew Bogut
G -- Michael Redd
G -- Mo Williams

Sonics
F -- Damien Wilkins
F -- Chris Wilcox
C -- Kurt Thomas
G -- Kevin Durant
G -- Earl Watson

Officials -- Joey Crawford, Michael Smith and Sean Wright