Hornets erase early deficit, close both halves strongly in 105-90 win over Bucks

Charlotte turned a rough opening into a controlled first quarter

Milwaukee looked sharp at the start, building a 13-2 lead by the 8:51 mark of the first quarter after Kyle Kuzma's three-pointer. The Bucks had early scoring from Tyler Herro, Ryan Rollins, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kuzma, and for a few minutes the game carried the outline of a road team settling in quickly.

Charlotte answered without needing a single scorer to dominate the stretch. Dennis Schroder's three-pointer tied the game 13-13 with 6:57 left in the quarter, Naz Reid added two baskets, and Sion James hit from deep before Royce O'Neale scored on back-to-back drives to push the Hornets in front 21-18. By the end of the period, Charlotte had moved from chasing the game to dictating it, taking a 29-26 lead into the second.

That control became more convincing early in the second. Jericho Sims briefly cut the margin to one, and Kuzma's three at 11:11 gave Milwaukee a 31-29 edge, but the Hornets responded with a 15-4 burst. Brandon Miller drove that change, hitting from long range twice and finishing an alley-oop dunk, while Hannes Steinbach and Moussa Diabate supplied interior baskets that kept Charlotte moving.

The Hornets closed each half with the kind of sequence Milwaukee could not match

The game's cleanest swing came late in the second quarter. Milwaukee trimmed the score to 47-45 on Kel'el Ware's running dunk with 2:56 left before halftime, leaving the Bucks within one possession. Charlotte then shut the half with 13 straight points: Sion James hit a three, Liam McNeeley followed with another, O'Neale scored inside, Tidjane Salaun made two free throws and Reid buried a three with 2.8 seconds left. What could have been a tense finish instead became a 60-45 Hornets lead at the break.

Milwaukee had one real chance to bend the game back in the third. Herro scored seven points in a little more than four minutes, and his three-pointer at 7:00 pulled the Bucks within 70-57. Charlotte answered almost every Buck push with another composed possession. Reid scored around the basket, Miller added a three and later two free throws, O'Neale connected from deep, and McNeeley closed the quarter with a three at 56.8 seconds. Charlotte won the period 27-22 and carried an 87-67 cushion into the fourth.

Any hope of a Milwaukee surge faded quickly. Steinbach opened the final quarter with two baskets for a 91-67 lead, and although Herro's step-back three at 7:35 cut the gap to 93-76, Charlotte had another reply ready. PJ Hall scored inside, Steinbach added a hook shot, Jarkel Joiner hit from 28 feet and Michael Ajayi followed with a three of his own, stretching the margin to 102-81 with 4:50 to play. The final score still showed a respectable distance for Milwaukee, but the decisive work had already been done.

Our take: Charlotte won the extra-possession battle and spread the offence around

The most persuasive part of Charlotte's night was not one hot hand but the accumulation of advantages. The Hornets finished with 54 rebounds to Milwaukee's 48, grabbed 18 offensive boards, handed out 29 assists and hit 17 three-pointers. Miller led with 18 points, Reid had 16, McNeeley added 11 points and five assists, and James scored 11 while going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Diabate scored eight but may have been just as important on the glass with 11 rebounds, five of them offensive.

For Charlotte, the win still leaves a couple of useful reminders. The Hornets gave the ball away 14 times and fell behind 13-2 before settling the game down, so the start and the ball security were not flawless. Milwaukee also collected 15 offensive rebounds, which is the kind of number that can keep an opponent alive. Those are manageable concerns in a 15-point win, but they are concerns all the same.

For Milwaukee, the route back is easier to identify because the numbers are blunt. The Bucks shot 32-for-89 overall, just 36.0 per cent, and went 11-for-19 at the foul line. Herro's 18 points led the team, but no Buck reached 20, and two perimeter rotation pieces, Gary Trent Jr. and Caris LeVert, combined for zero points. Myles Turner blocked five shots, yet Milwaukee never found steady enough offence to turn those defensive plays into momentum. Charlotte did not need a spectacular shooting night to win this game; it simply made more plays, on more possessions, with more players involved.

Scoring moments

1. 1st Quarter · 11:29

   Tyler Herro makes 10-foot driving floating jump shot (Jaime Jaquez Jr. assists)

2. 1st Quarter · 11:14

   Moussa Diabate makes 1-foot layup (Brandon Miller assists)

3. 1st Quarter · 10:56

   Ryan Rollins makes 26-foot three point step back jumpshot

4. 1st Quarter · 10:13

   Jaime Jaquez Jr. makes 24-foot three point jumper (Kyle Kuzma assists)

5. 1st Quarter · 9:29

   Kyle Kuzma makes layup (Ryan Rollins assists)

6. 1st Quarter · 9:06

   Brandon Miller makes 20-foot step back jumpshot

7. 1st Quarter · 8:51

   Kyle Kuzma makes 25-foot three pointer (Ryan Rollins assists)

8. 1st Quarter · 8:00

   Moussa Diabate makes two point shot

9. 1st Quarter · 7:42

   Naz Reid makes 26-foot running jump shot (Dennis Schroder assists)

10. 1st Quarter · 6:57

    Dennis Schroder makes 24-foot three point jumper (Liam McNeeley assists)

11. 1st Quarter · 6:37

    Myles Turner makes 27-foot three point jumper (AJ Green assists)

12. 1st Quarter · 6:20

    Naz Reid makes 4-foot two point shot

13. 1st Quarter · 6:08

    Ryan Rollins makes 12-foot driving floating jump shot (AJ Green assists)

14. 1st Quarter · 5:39

    Sion James makes 24-foot three point jumper (Brandon Miller assists)

15. 1st Quarter · 4:18

    Royce O'Neale makes driving layup

16. 1st Quarter · 3:34

    Royce O'Neale makes running layup (Sion James assists)

17. 1st Quarter · 3:21

    AJ Green makes 27-foot three point jumper (Jericho Sims assists)

18. 1st Quarter · 2:58

    Tidjane Salaun makes 25-foot three point jumper

19. 1st Quarter · 2:26

    Sion James makes 24-foot three point jumper (Liam McNeeley assists)

20. 1st Quarter · 1:36

    Kevin Porter Jr. makes 1-foot dunk (Kel'el Ware assists)

21. 1st Quarter · 1:06

    Jericho Sims makes reverse layup (Kevin Porter Jr. assists)

22. 1st Quarter · 51.8

    Ryan Kalkbrenner makes two point shot

23. 1st Quarter · 0.2

    Kevin Porter Jr. makes free throw 2 of 2

24. 2nd Quarter · 11:46

    Jericho Sims makes dunk (Tyler Herro assists)

25. 2nd Quarter · 11:11

    Kyle Kuzma makes 25-foot three point jumper (Kevin Porter Jr. assists)

26. 2nd Quarter · 10:17

    Brandon Miller makes 25-foot three point jumper (Hannes Steinbach assists)

27. 2nd Quarter · 9:27

    Hannes Steinbach makes running dunk (Naz Reid assists)

28. 2nd Quarter · 9:09

    Brandon Miller makes 25-foot three point jumper (Dennis Schroder assists)

29. 2nd Quarter · 8:24

    Ryan Rollins makes two point shot

30. 2nd Quarter · 8:06

    Brandon Miller makes alley oop dunk (Michael Ajayi assists)

31. 2nd Quarter · 7:47

    Kyle Kuzma makes free throw 1 of 2

32. 2nd Quarter · 7:47

    Kyle Kuzma makes free throw 2 of 2

33. 2nd Quarter · 7:35

    Moussa Diabate makes 1-foot alley oop dunk (Dennis Schroder assists)

34. 2nd Quarter · 6:55

    Brandon Miller makes 25-foot three pointer (Sion James assists)

35. 2nd Quarter · 6:38

    Jaime Jaquez Jr. makes 3-foot two point shot

36. 2nd Quarter · 4:53

    Jaime Jaquez Jr. makes 26-foot three pointer

37. 2nd Quarter · 3:30

    Liam McNeeley makes 24-foot three point jumper (Moussa Diabate assists)

38. 2nd Quarter · 3:19

    Kel'el Ware makes 27-foot three point jumper (Jaime Jaquez Jr. assists)

39. 2nd Quarter · 2:56

    Kel'el Ware makes running dunk (AJ Green assists)

40. 2nd Quarter · 2:37

    Sion James makes 25-foot three point jumper (Liam McNeeley assists)

41. 2nd Quarter · 2:07

    Liam McNeeley makes 26-foot three point jumper (Royce O'Neale assists)

42. 2nd Quarter · 1:02

    Royce O'Neale makes two point shot (Tidjane Salaun assists)

43. 2nd Quarter · 30.2

    Tidjane Salaun makes free throw 1 of 2

44. 2nd Quarter · 30.2

    Tidjane Salaun makes free throw 2 of 2

45. 2nd Quarter · 2.8

    Naz Reid makes 25-foot three point jumper (Sion James assists)

46. 3rd Quarter · 11:40

    Tyler Herro makes 1-foot two point shot

47. 3rd Quarter · 11:25

    Naz Reid makes 11-foot two point shot

48. 3rd Quarter · 10:46

    Moussa Diabate makes free throw 1 of 2

49. 3rd Quarter · 10:35

    Ryan Rollins makes 25-foot three pointer (Jaime Jaquez Jr. assists)

50. 3rd Quarter · 10:17

    Brandon Miller makes 24-foot three point jumper (Dennis Schroder assists)

51. 3rd Quarter · 9:07

    Naz Reid makes driving layup (Brandon Miller assists)

52. 3rd Quarter · 8:44

    Liam McNeeley makes 1-foot running dunk (Moussa Diabate assists)

53. 3rd Quarter · 7:37

    Tyler Herro makes 25-foot running pullup jump shot (Kyle Kuzma assists)

54. 3rd Quarter · 7:36

    Tyler Herro makes free throw 1 of 1

55. 3rd Quarter · 7:00

    Tyler Herro makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jaime Jaquez Jr. assists)

56. 3rd Quarter · 6:41

    Moussa Diabate makes free throw 2 of 2

57. 3rd Quarter · 6:09

    Naz Reid makes 7-foot two point shot

58. 3rd Quarter · 5:53

    Jaime Jaquez Jr. makes free throw 2 of 2

59. 3rd Quarter · 5:32

    Tyler Herro makes free throw 1 of 2

60. 3rd Quarter · 5:32

    Tyler Herro makes free throw 2 of 2

61. 3rd Quarter · 5:11

    Naz Reid makes layup (Brandon Miller assists)

62. 3rd Quarter · 5:03

    Ryan Rollins makes layup (Tyler Herro assists)

63. 3rd Quarter · 4:37

    Royce O'Neale makes 26-foot three point jumper (Sion James assists)

64. 3rd Quarter · 4:19

    Brandon Miller makes free throw 1 of 2

65. 3rd Quarter · 4:19

    Brandon Miller makes free throw 2 of 2

66. 3rd Quarter · 2:33

    Ryan Kalkbrenner makes 1-foot alley oop dunk (Liam McNeeley assists)

67. 3rd Quarter · 2:10

    Jericho Sims makes 6-foot floating jump shot (AJ Green assists)

68. 3rd Quarter · 1:37

    Sion James makes free throw 1 of 2

69. 3rd Quarter · 1:37

    Sion James makes free throw 2 of 2

70. 3rd Quarter · 56.8

    Liam McNeeley makes 26-foot three point jumper (Michael Ajayi assists)

71. 3rd Quarter · 51.0

    Kevin Porter Jr. makes free throw 1 of 2

72. 3rd Quarter · 21.9

    Kevin Porter Jr. makes free throw 1 of 2

73. 3rd Quarter · 21.9

    Kevin Porter Jr. makes free throw 2 of 2

74. 4th Quarter · 11:43

    Hannes Steinbach makes 2-foot layup (Liam McNeeley assists)

75. 4th Quarter · 10:44

    Hannes Steinbach makes two point shot

76. 4th Quarter · 9:47

    Tyler Herro makes 11-foot running pullup jump shot

77. 4th Quarter · 9:14

    Myles Turner makes 1-foot two point shot (Kevin Porter Jr. assists)

78. 4th Quarter · 8:54

    Kyle Kuzma makes running dunk

79. 4th Quarter · 8:17

    PJ Hall makes 1-foot two point shot (Jarkel Joiner assists)

80. 4th Quarter · 7:35

    Tyler Herro makes 24-foot three point step back jumpshot (Kevin Porter Jr. assists)

81. 4th Quarter · 6:47

    Pat Connaughton makes free throw 2 of 2

82. 4th Quarter · 6:26

    Kel'el Ware makes two point shot

83. 4th Quarter · 6:09

    Hannes Steinbach makes 4-foot hook shot (Jarkel Joiner assists)

84. 4th Quarter · 5:46

    Kel'el Ware makes 23-foot three point jumper (Pete Nance assists)

85. 4th Quarter · 5:23

    Jarkel Joiner makes 28-foot three point jumper (Michael Ajayi assists)

86. 4th Quarter · 4:50

    Michael Ajayi makes 25-foot three point jumper (Pat Connaughton assists)

87. 4th Quarter · 4:04

    AJ Green makes 24-foot three point jumper (Caris LeVert assists)

88. 4th Quarter · 3:18

    PJ Hall makes two point shot

89. 4th Quarter · 2:02

    Jarkel Joiner makes free throw 1 of 2

90. 4th Quarter · 1:45

    Pete Nance makes two point shot

91. 4th Quarter · 40.0

    Pete Nance makes free throw 2 of 2

92. 4th Quarter · 7.8

    Jake Stephens makes 25-foot three point jumper (Caris LeVert assists)