LaMelo Ball picked up the pace with a strong second half to finish with 26 points, including two free throws with 7.3 seconds left, as the Charlotte Hornets snapped a two-game skid by defeating the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 115-114 on Saturday afternoon.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s triple-double for the Bucks wasn’t enough and he missed a potential-winning 18-foot shot on the game’s last possession. Antetokounmpo scored 22 points with 15 rebounds and 12 assists while going 11-for-22 from the floor.
Charlotte’s Miles Bridges poured in 19 points, Josh Green had 15 points, Brandon Miller added 13 points and Moussa Diabate came off the bench for 12 points and 14 rebounds in 25 minutes. Tre Mann was back after missing a game and provided 11 points.
Taurean Prince scored 23 points and Bobby Portis turned in 21 off the bench as the Bucks were denied a third consecutive victory. Portis, who was back in action after missing Milwaukee’s win Wednesday over the Detroit Pistons with a sore elbow, shot 9-for-15 from the field.
The score was tight throughout, including a 107-107 tie with under three minutes to play.
Bridges hit a 3-pointer to break the tie with 2:08 remaining. Antetokounmpo answered with a dunk but Ball drove to the basket for a bucket to give Charlotte a 112-109 lead with 1:07 left.
Pat Connaughton gave the Bucks a 114-113 lead with 19.1 seconds left before Antetokounmpo fouled Ball, who made both attempts to finish 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.
The game began with two four-win teams still trying to find some consistency.
Milwaukee took a 90-86 lead into the fourth quarter in what had been a back-and-forth second half.
The Bucks were up 107-103 before going more than three minutes without scoring.
The Bucks led by as many as eight and took a 63-59 lead into halftime. They shot 54.3 percent from the field in the first half. Both teams made eight first-half 3-point shots.
Ball, who entered the day as Charlotte’s leading scorer in all except two games, was just 1-for-5 from the floor in the half.
–Field Level Media
