George Karl made a plea to Glenn Robinson a few weeks back.

The words were simple: Karl told Robinson he needed him to be the player Karl knew he could be.

And that need became much more acute for Karl and the Bucks once Ray Allen went out for the last five games with tendinitis in his left knee.

Robinson has answered the call.

In the five games Allen has missed, Robinson has delivered performances in which the low end was solid, the high end brilliant.

"I talked to him about a month ago. I was angry with him," Karl said. "I said, ' "Dog," this stuff we can work it out. But the way we work it out, you've got to become the horse that you're capable of being. I need a horse to ride.'

"And I think that's what 'Dog' has done the last week or so. He's a horse. And it's fun coaching when you've got horses out there."

Over the past two seasons, Milwaukee guard Sam Cassell has groused about his contract to reporters, teammates and management.

Complaining about $22 million over six years might seem like a stretch. But as one of the better point guards in the NBA, Cassell can claim he's underpaid.

Of course, no one forced Cassell to sign the deal, and there's nothing Milwaukee can legally do.

Because the Bucks want their key player to have peace of mind, the organization has offered the only thing possible under the collective-bargaining agreement: an extension with a relatively modest raise.

The deal is an extra three years totaling $17.1 million, which Cassell would start receiving after his contract expires this summer.

By making the proposal, Milwaukee is telling Cassell to pipe down and sign now or wait until the end of the season to try his luck.

The danger Cassell faces is that he will be 34 after this season. And in the luxury-tax era, almost no team will give a gaudy contract to a player nearing his mid-30s.

Cassell can take his teammate as an example. After his first All-Star season, Anthony Mason, 35, was told by Miami that he was too expensive to keep. Mason couldn't get a significant offer from any other clubs. Although the Bucks targeted Mason to provide an inside presence, they couldn't sign him until after training camp. Milwaukee had to maneuver by trading Scott Williams ? a key reserve ? so it could afford Mason.

Cassell has a point that he's underpaid, especially when compared to teammate Tim Thomas, who makes $9 million as a reserve.

But that's the drawback to the NBA's guaranteed contracts. They can't be ripped apart.

And if Cassell had turned out to be a scrub, he wouldn't have given anything back.

No Webber, no problem for Sacramento Kings

When Chris Webber became a free agent last summer, Sacramento's future seemed to hang in the balance. But last week, after Webber missed his second span of games, the Kings confirmed that they possess enough talent to flourish without last season's MVP candidate ? at least during the regular season.

Sacramento scored an NBA season-high 133 points while Webber watched from the side with tendinitis of his right ankle. It originally forced Webber to miss the season's first 20 games.

The most remarkable aspect of the Webber-less Kings is that they were among the top-rebounding clubs in the NBA.

Webber realizes that the Kings can win about 50 games without him. But the power forward has returned, if only to stop hearing the kooky medicinal suggestions from family.

"My aunt told me about the old remedy for a cold, where you put cow manure around your neck with some ammonia in there," Webber said.

"She said I had to put that bag around my leg."

Three-second calls

North Carolina may be struggling, but it remains the college program with the most former players in the NBA: 14 (Two happen to be among the best in the league: Vince Carter and Michael Jordan). The school with the second-most (11) is Arizona. ... If an award existed for most-regressed player, the leading candidates this season would be Indiana's Jalen Rose and Toronto's Antonio Davis. ... One way to appreciate the monstrosity of Shaquille O'Neal is to realize that the Lakers center dwarfs even Ben Simon, the popular, heavyweight dancer at Sonics games whose energetic moves belie his girth. ... Before this season, Pat Riley seemed like the quintessential winner. The last time the Miami coach experienced losing similar to now occurred during his first year in the NBA: his San Diego Rockets finished 15-67. But time must have healed those wounds. "I don't remember it being this miserable," Riley said. ... Two rookies who defend better than most NBA players: Sonics guard Earl Watson and Bulls guard Trenton Hassell. ... Players find it infuriating when a coach doesn't communicate about playing time. So after Brian Winters took over for David Cowens at Golden State, the new coach told center Adonal Foyle that he would see only garbage time until further notice. Foyle couldn't handle the truth. "It's horrible," Foyle said. "Certainly a vote of non-confidence. If I care about my job ? and I do ? it should be infuriating." ... Although NBC will be shut out of the NBA's next broadcast deal, Marv Albert is expected to take his biting commentary to ESPN or TNT, the league's broadcast partners for the next several years. ... It's worth noting that the perception of Allen Iverson has reverted to him being a reckless shooter now that Philadelphia is struggling. "We could have Michael Jordan out there," Coach Larry Brown said. "And if he just spotted up, I doubt he'd get the ball."

The most gifted team in the East and the oddest in the league, the Milwaukee Bucks continued their strange behavior at San Antonio's expense Saturday night.

With a five-game road trip facing them, it might be safe to let the kids leave home after all, although it's anybody's guess how they'll decide to entertain themselves.

As hard as they try, they can't provide a rational explanation for why they're playing their best ball of the season with their best player sitting down. Ray Allen isn't perfect, but he is 21 points a night, and the Bucks rarely have that much to spare.

One of George Karl's favorite screwball theories is that good teams turn injuries into positives. Taken to its logical conclusion, that would make it a sound idea to smack your shooting guard around every once in a while just to make everyone else focus.

After weeks of chronically complaining about the state of his first-place team, Milwaukee coach George Karl was finally pressed to name a time when he thought the Bucks would begin to play to their potential.

"Feb. 1," Worrying George said.

Reading that comment, a San Antonio writer last week asked Karl how he arrived at that date.

"I made it up," Karl said.

Always accommodating to his friends in the media, Karl's insightful comments come from a quick mind, not a crystal ball. Eager as he is to get this team to the Finals, he has legitimate concerns about the progress of the Bucks' growth: Anthony Mason's ongoing indoctrination, the early schedule, complacent stars not always committed to his visions of grandeur, and now Ray Allen's health.

Still, there are signs that this thing might be coming together quicker than Karl had hoped. Although he probably wasn't sandbagging as much as feeding his own ravenous anxieties, even Karl would have to agree that the Bucks are not that far from being difficult to beat.

If the San Antonio Spurs were about to end their recent string of futility against the Milwaukee Bucks, Saturday night should have been the night.

The Bucks' Ray Allen was in street clothes for his fourth consecutive game. Glenn Robinson joined him on the bench midway through the fourth period with a bruised left thigh. And the Bucks went stone cold in a 5-for-19 fourth quarter that sent the Spurs to overtime with all the momentum and more offensive options.

Instead, the Spurs were left to contemplate a 102-99 overtime loss in which they came back from a 15-point, fourth-quarter deficit, then lost for the sixth consecutive time to the Bucks when they could score just two points in the final 3:23 of overtime.

Michael Redd's three-point play with 1:46 left in the overtime period resuscitated the Bucks, and Tim Thomas' driving layup and 7-foot jumper put the Bucks ahead after they'd been forced to the extra period by a fourth quarter in which they missed 10 consecutive shots.

No occurrence in recent memory galvanized the Milwaukee Bucks into a contending team more than Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last May 17 against the Charlotte Hornets. Facing elimination on the road, the Bucks persevered to win the game and the series against a worthy playoff opponent.

Returning Friday night to the Charlotte Coliseum for the first time since that watershed event, the Bucks found a wholly different atmosphere. The building was more than half-empty, a stark contrast from the electric ambiance that permeated it that spring afternoon.

Still, the Bucks were able to rise above the relative indifference shown by this city toward the rematch and crush the Hornets, 105-89, Friday night with their best start to a game this season.

The question of how to fill a 21-point hole in a lineup can be a crippling proposition for a lot of NBA teams. Yet since Saturday night, when Ray Allen took a seat for the first time in five-plus seasons, the Milwaukee Bucks have managed to become an even more productive offensive team.

Averaging a stunning 106 points in the three games Allen has missed, the Bucks have been forced to become more resourceful with their backups. The gap has been closed nicely by Michael Redd and Tim Thomas, who, luckily for the Bucks, have responded with their best basketball of the year since Allen's departure.

And with Allen expected to miss his fourth consecutive game tonight because of tendinitis in his left knee, Redd and Thomas will again be at the vanguard of the shared shooting-guard position when the Bucks go back on the road to face playoff nemesis Charlotte.

"I think both (Redd) and Timmy have a great opportunity to carry a great hole," Bucks coach George Karl said. "It's not just losing a great player. You're losing his scoring, also. We can go down (in scoring) there, but we can't get 10 (points) there. And that's where Michael's been really good."

There was a moment late in the third quarter of Friday?s 105-89 Milwaukee victory over Charlotte where the Hornets? two top players, Jamal Mashburn and Baron Davis, consoled each other on the bench.

Charlotte coach Paul Silas only hopes that situation doesn?t continue.

While Mashburn remains in street clothes and is out indefinitely with a strained abdominal muscle, Davis injured his right knee for the second straight game and is listed as doubtful for tonight?s game at Washington.

"It?s just real sore," Davis said. "I want to play. The last thing I want to do is not play. But it?ll be a game-time decision again."

Percentages may dictate that the Hornets sit Davis out of a game for the first time of his professional career; Davis has played in 193 straight games.

It?s because Charlotte doesn?t play again until next Thursday.

And the usually positive Silas offered the painfully obvious Hornets? prospects should Davis join Mashburn on the sidelines.

"Well, if Baron is hurt and can?t play up to his capabilities, we?re going to have trouble winning games," Silas said. "There is no plan B. We just do the best we can (without him). We lose Mash ? and if we lose (Davis) and we?re just not a very good team.

"I don?t have a magic wand that can make that go away. Let?s face it. Without my players, we?re not a very good team."

Without Davis for much of Friday night?s loss, Charlotte proved Silas correct.

The Hornets were easy targets for the Bucks, who also were short-handed.

Yet, even with Ray Allen out with knee tendinitis, Sam Cassell, Glenn Robinson and Tim Thomas sliced up whatever defense was thrown at them, even a zone defense that helped Charlotte closed within 10 late in the game.

"We used the zone to get back in the game," Silas said. "But then they started raining 3?s."

Milwaukee was 11-of-26 overall on 3-pointers, with Cassell and Thomas hitting three apiece.

The only real positives for Charlotte were in Lee Nailon?s 24-point performance and in David Wesley moving back over to the point guard position (along with reserve Bryce Drew) after Davis left the game early in the second half.

"We?ll go with what we?ve got," Silas said of the Hornets? future playing rotation. "That?s really all we can do."

Following the first sellout of the season for Wednesday night?s game against Michael Jordan?s Washington Wizards, the attendance Friday night dropped dramatically. It was listed officially as 10,888, but courtside observers calculated the actual number of fans at significantly less than that.

CHARLOTTE

Everything was back to normal last night at the Charlotte Coliseum.

The stands were more than half empty again, and the Charlotte Hornets fell back into their recent doldrums in a 105-89 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks took control quickly, leading by 23 points in the first half and 18 at halftime, and the Hornets never got the deficit under double digits in the second half.

It was not the way the Hornets wanted to follow their 99-93 win over Washington on Wednesday night, when a sellout crowd of 23,799 looked on, and afterward Hornets players talked about their their frustration.

"It's disappointing," guard David Wesley said. "We just can't seem to build on a good performance. We won big games at Utah and Portland earlier in the year and couldn't build on them, and the same thing happened tonight. To play like we did in front of a packed house Wednesday night and then to come back with an effort like this, it's frustrating."

The loss dropped the Hornets to 13-16 and was the fifth loss in their past seven games. It also dropped them to 4-8 at home and was the eighth loss in their past 10 home games.

"The first half was our demise," Coach Paul Silas said. "We didn't play very well in the first half at all. We just didn't come with it tonight."

To add to the Hornets' misery, guard Baron Davis exited early in the third quarter because of more problems with his injured right knee and didn't return. He's listed as doubtful for tonight's game at Washington.

"We're not going to make any excuses, but when you're without your point guard on top of not having Mash (Jamal Mashburn) and (George) Lynch, you're going to struggle," Silas said. "Without those guys, we're not a very good team."

Sam Cassell led the Bucks with 29 points. Glenn Robinson scored 21, Tim Thomas 18, and Darvin Ham supplied some of the most electric plays of the night and finished with 12. The Bucks shot 47.2 percent from the field but were a sizzling 10 of 14 from 3-point range, with Cassell and Thomas hitting three treys each.

The Bucks have won three straight and are 17-9, leading the Central Division.

Lee Nailon led the Hornets with 24 points, Wesley scored 21 and Elden Campbell finished with 16. Davis was 2 of 11 from the field before leaving and finished with seven points.

The Bucks scored the last four points of the first quarter to lead 33-26 after one period, then assumed firm control in the second quarter.

They went on an 18-2 run over a span of 4:51 early in the second to push a 35-29 lead to 53-31.

The Bucks hit three 3-pointers in that span, two by Rafer Alston, and the Hornets went more than five minutes without a field goal. The Hornets missed 16 of their first 19 shots in the period.

Milwaukee's biggest lead came at 56-33. The Hornets never got closer than 92-82 with just more than five minutes left in the game.

"Tonight was a letdown for us," Campbell said.

"It was just an off game. We're going in the wrong direction. But all we can do right now is learn from our mistakes and try to improve for the next game."

After tonight's game at Washington, the Hornets will return home for a five-game homestand.

"We've got to find a way to start winning consistently at home," Wesley said. "Tonight was a great opportunity for us and we didn't take advantage of it. I feel we're better than our record, but the fact is we're not playing that way. It kinda sucks, really."

"They're better than we are right now," Hornets coach Paul Silas was saying earlier this week about the Milwaukee Bucks.

He may not have known just how much better. Not until Friday night, at any rate.

Turning up the flame on their potent offense, even in the absence of injured All-Star guard Ray Allen, the Bucks breezed through the Charlotte Coliseum Friday night and made short work of the Hornets in a 105-89 victory.

Complicating matters for the Hornets was first the injury-hampered play and later the loss of starting point guard Baron Davis, who was bothered all night by a bruised right knee and is listed as doubtful for Charlotte's game tonight at Washington.

"We just really didn't play very well," Silas said.

"There is no Plan B (if Davis is out). I mean, we do the best we can. But if we lose him, we lose (Jamal Mashburn), we don't have George Lynch, we're not a very good team. It's that simple. I mean, I have no magical wand that I can wave and make things happen if I don't have my players.

"That's just where we are right now. I don't use that as an excuse, but you take anybody's point guard and leading scorer off their team and it's going to affect them."

Davis injured the knee early in Wednesday's home-court victory over Washington. Mashburn, the starting small forward, has been out since early season with a lower abdominal strain and there is no timetable for his return. Lynch, a former Philadelphia starter who was traded to Charlotte in October, hasn't played for the Hornets after having foot surgery but is due back in late January.

Davis went 24 minutes Friday but banged his knee again and, already seeing him having trouble getting into his game, Silas decided to rest him the rest of the way. Davis had eight assists but made only 2-of-11 shots and scored seven, 13 below his average.

The scoring load was shared by Lee Nailon (24 points), David Wesley (21) and Elden Campbell (16). But overall the Hornets shot only 38.5percent and played with double-figure deficits all the way after Milwaukee took control early in the second quarter. They were outrebounded 48-47, with former Hornet Anthony Mason getting 11 to lead the Bucks.

The biggest problem, though, was on the defensive end. Despite missing Allen and his 21.4 average, the Bucks riddled Charlotte with a 47.2percent shooting display that included an 11-of-26 effort from three-point range. Five players reached double figures, topped by Sam Cassell (29) and Glenn Robinson (21).

Milwaukee's bench easily outscored Charlotte's 36-15.

The Bucks' offense, which created a 23-point lead in the second quarter, was hardly a surprise. They're averaging 106 points in four games without Allen.

"I thought in the first half we played with as much energy as we've shown all year," Milwaukee coach George Karl said. "Then we were able to hang on in the fourth quarter (when Charlotte cut the lead to 10) and made enough threes to win it."

The result left the Hornets frustrated, particularly so because of their inability to develop any momentum at home.

"The only consistency we have is win one, lose one," Wesley said.

They are 4-8 at home and facing, after tonight's stop in Washington, nine of their next 13 games in the Coliseum.