After beating the Eastern Conference’s second-best team on Friday night, the Charlotte Hornets will look to take things a step further when they face the Milwaukee Bucks for a 1 PM EST tipoff today at Spectrum Center.
Charlotte compiled its most complete, balanced 48-minute game of the season two nights ago, edging out the Toronto Raptors for an impressive (and dramatic) 99-96 road win. After enduring blowout losses last Saturday and Tuesday evening, the Hornets have regained a bit of momentum and confidence heading into what will be a challenging four-game homestand.
“We needed this,” said Terry Rozier, who finished with a team-high-tying 18 points, which included the go-ahead technical free throw with 2.1 seconds left. “We won our last game, so we’re just looking to keep building. It’s a special team (Toronto) that we just played against, so every time we get a chance to beat a special team, it makes us feel good.”
Milwaukee leads the season series with Charlotte, 2-0, and took the most recent meeting, 116-103 back on Jan. 24 in Paris. Leading the way for the Hornets was Malik Monk, who had a career-high 31 points with Devonte’ Graham adding 19 points and team-high seven boards. Giannis Antetokounmpo amassed game-high totals in scoring (30 points), rebounding (16) and assists (6) and Eric Bledsoe tallied 20 points and five assists to help Milwaukee snag its 40th win of the campaign.
Unsurprisingly, the 51-8 Bucks sit near the top of the league in offensive rating (113.5; third) and defensive rating (101.3; first). Milwaukee is coming off a 47-point home win over Oklahoma City on Friday night, moving its record to 24-3 since Dec. 27. Since the All-Star Break, Khris Middleton is leading the team in scoring (28.8 PPG on 57.3% shooting), while Antetokounmpo is putting up 27.4 PPG, 15.8 RPG, 5.6 APG and 1.2 BPG in just 30.2 MPG in the team’s five outings (5-0).
Having won five of its last seven games, Charlotte’s improving defense (which ranks seventh in the NBA since Feb. 10), has helped the team overcome some recent struggles on the offensive end. Keeping the turnovers down, the rebounds up and the defense locked in will once again be huge factors for the Hornets as they look to pick up a third straight win this afternoon.
Game Notes: Bucks F Khris Middleton (sore neck) missed Friday’s game… Bucks F Marvin Williams will be making his first appearance in Charlotte since signing with Milwaukee on Feb. 10. He ranks third in Hornets team history in three-point field goals (681) and eighth in total rebounds (2,293).