MILWAUKEE, April 14 (Ticker) -- Ray Allen shot his way into the record books, and the Milwaukee Bucks still have a shot at making the playoffs.

Allen made eight of his 10 3-pointers in the second half and scored a career-high 47 points as the Bucks held off the Charlotte Hornets, 98-91, and held onto eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Bucks (40-40), who led the Central Division as late as March 16 but now are clinging to their postseason hopes by a tiebreaker. Milwaukee shares eighth place with Indiana but won the season series, 3-1.

NBA TV highlights from Hornets-Bucks: 56k | 300k The Bucks held their ground in the standings and against the Hornets. Gary Dineen NBAE/Getty Images

"We have to find a horse and ride him," Bucks coach George Karl said. "Tonight, Ray was there for us. Thankfully, he was hitting his shots. It's pretty special what Ray did tonight. He kept his zone all night long."

With Sam Cassell and Tim Thomas hurting, the Bucks relied heavily on Allen, who is nursing a sore knee. Perhaps the best pure shooter in the NBA, Allen rediscovered the stroke that left him in Friday's loss at Indiana, where he missed two layups down the stretch.

"My knee's throbbing," Allen said. "My fear is not making the playoffs, not hurting my knee. When the adrenaline starts flowing, I don't feel a thing. The minute the game stops, I realize how much it hurts."

Allen made 15-of-23 shots, including 10-of-14 from the arc. His 3-pointers were the most in the NBA this season and broke the team mark set by Michael Redd earlier this season. He fell one shy of the league record set in 1996 by Dennis Scott.

"You gave him a centimeter and you know it was going up," Hornets forward P.J. Brown said. "He has that type of talent where he can do that. But Ray Allen was playing out of his mind."

Allen made 5-of-5 from 3-point range in the third quarter, giving Milwaukee a 71-62 lead entering the final period. He added three more, including two that turned back rallies by Charlotte.

The eight 3-pointers in the second half tied an NBA record shared by Redd and Thomas.

"I told Michael Redd when he got his 3-pointers that I was chasing him and today was the day," Allen said.

"Unbelievable, that is all you can say," Hornets coach Paul Silas said. "He was in a zone. That is something you can't do anything about."

Glenn Robinson scored 23 points for the Bucks. Cassell, hampered by a sprained toe, missed his only shot in 19 minutes and scored two points. Thomas, bothered by a sore knee, was 0-of-7 with five fouls in 19 scoreless minutes.

Jamal Mashburn scored 28 points and Baron Davis added 16 for the playoff-bound Hornets (42-38), who fell one game behind Philadelphia into sixth place in the East.

"We can't show up and expect to get it done," said Silas, whose club lost at Milwaukee in Game Seven of last year's conference semifinals. "This is preparing us for the playoffs."

Allen scored 17 points in the third period and stayed hot in the fourth quarter. His 3-pointer kept the lead at 76-67 and another made it 81-75 with 5:54 to go.

"His stroke was on," Karl said. “Stacey Augmon was all over him and he was still hitting."

Two free throws by Jamaal Magloire pulled Charlotte within 83-81with 5:07 left. Allen fed Ervin Johnson for a dunk and Robinson made a pair of jumpers, widening the bulge to 89-81 with 2:35 to play.

A 3-pointer by Davis and two free throws by Mashburn made it 89-86, but Allen's 10th 3-pointer doubled the lead with 1:19 remaining. He added four free throws -- Milwaukee's first of the second half -- in the final 25 seconds.

Anthony Mason scored 10 points and Johnson had 11 rebounds for the Bucks, who shot 46 percent (34-of-74) and made 13-of-21 from the arc.

"It was a big one for us, to give us that winning edge back," Robinson said. "This is like the NCAAs for us. You win, you stay; you lose, you go home. We're not finished yet."

Augmon and Elden Campbell scored 10 points each and P.J. Brown swept 10 boards for the Hornets, who shot 40.5 percent (32-of-79) and held a 44-37 edge on the glass.

Cassell's two free throws gave Milwaukee the lead for good at 4-3 less than 2 1/2 minutes into the contest. The Bucks led by as many as 10 points in the second period before settling for a 45-39 lead behind 17 points from Allen.