LaMelo Ball scored 50, Brandon Miller scored 32, and a late fourth quarter comeback fell just short as the Charlotte Hornets lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 125-119.

The Summary

Most of the first half was “look at the Hornets hanging around” against a Bucks team that’s been one of the hotter teams in the league outside of their loss to the Hornets last week. The second half was well played and competitive, but the second half was where all the fun happened.

The Hornets continued to hang tight with the Bucks well into the third quarter. LaMelo Ball dialed up the aggressiveness as he is wont to do in the second half as the teams traded a lot of baskets in a high scoring period. Late in the quarter, the Bucks got unfathomably hot from deep, and the rapid barrage turned a four point game into a 13 point game. The Hornets got a couple of those back and trailed by 11 heading into the fourth.

A 6-0 Bucks run opened the fourth quarter and seemingly put the game out of reach. To summarize how the game was going, Cody Martin swatted a Damian Lillard, and it hit Gary Trent Jr between the numbers for a perfect catch and shoot opportunity from the corner. The Hornets didn’t quit though, even with an injury to Grant Williams coming in the middle of their comeback attempt. Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball wouldn’t stop making shots. LaMelo Ball surpassed 50 points and Miller started splashing threes. They made it a two point game with less than 20 seconds to play. The veteran Bucks were able to make enough free throws to stave off the comeback for just long enough for the game to end.

The Good

LaMelo Ball took a whole lot of shots, but they were going in frequently enough to justify the high usage. He became just the second player in Hornets history to score a 50 burger and I believe he set or tied the Hornets record for points in a half. And he still found time to dish 10 assists as well. He loves playing the Bucks.

Brandon Miller took a backseat to LaMelo for a lot of the game, but he caught fire late when the Hornets made their unlikely comeback attempt. He made three straight threes late to stop the Bucks from putting the game away. He finished with 32 points and a career high 11 rebounds.

The Hornets did a decent job limiting Giannis again. He had an okay game, but it’s still below the standard he’s set for himself in recent weeks. It speaks to the ability of this team to gameplan for certain play styles.

The Bad

The Hornets finishing inside the arc continues to be a problem, and it was a glaring issue in this game. Brook Lopez is one of the better rim protectors in the league, and he has Giannis roaming around to help as well. The Hornets had all sorts of problems dealing with that length. They shot well from deep, but the interior scoring held the offense back.

Grant Williams left the game late in a lot of pain after his knee buckled when he planted it. It looked like a serious noncontact injury, but fingers crossed it’s not as bad as it looked.

What’s Next

What’s left of the Hornets travel back to Charlotte for a five game homestand that starts with a visit from the Magic on Monday.