Milwaukee breaks its losing streak in Bobby’s return
Without Giannis (or Khris, sadly), the Milwaukee Bucks broke their losing streak against the bruised and battered Charlotte Hornets, winning 112-102. Damian Lillard was spectacular with 29 points and 12 assists, while Bobby Portis did his thing in his return, dropping 23 points and 17 rebounds. For the Hornets, Nick Smith Jr. led the way with 23 points.
Game Recap
Even though it was his first game back, Bobby Portis was inserted straight into the starting lineup with Giannis ruled out minutes before tip. Both teams were on fire early, with Nick Smith Jr. accounting for eight of the Hornets’ first 12 points. Luckily, the Bucks were even more efficient due to four three-point makes from Brook Lopez in the opening five minutes. Dame paced the Bucks for the rest of the quarter, and Trent checked in for five quick ones. Bucks led 38-26 after one.
Tidjane Salaün, Moussa Diabaté, and Nick Smith Jr. got Charlotte back into the game early in the second as the Bucks couldn’t score (three points in four minutes), up just five as Doc called timeout. Finally, the floodgates opened a little bit with an 8-0 run from Trent, Portis, and Prince to push the lead back out to 13 with about five minutes to go in the period. Both teams traded blows for the remainder of the period, with the Bucks leading 66-56 at half.
Terrific ball movement on the opening possession for the Bucks resulted in a Prince corner triple. Buckets from Dame and Bobby quickly followed as Charles Lee called a timeout less than three minutes into the frame. Scoring then slowed to a halt for both teams, but Charlotte took their chances and reduced the Bucks’ lead to 10 behind six straight points from DaQuan Jeffries. Bucks up 86-77 after three.
With Dame taking a break, Bobby got the Bucks off the mark with consecutive triples. Then Milwaukee turned the defence up and got out in the open floor a bit. AJ Green missed uncharacteristically on a few open threes, but PC and Bobby were able to convert at the rim to extend the lead to 17 off the back of a 10-0 run. Thankfully, that same unit maintained that advantage, and Dame got the whole quarter off, with the Bucks breaking their losing streak.
Stat That Stood Out
I mean, it’s hard to look past Bobby’s night. As much as Portis does have his limitations, the dude is a certified hooper. BP dropped 23 points and 17 rebounds (plus five assists) after spending a week or so off. Respect.
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