Milwaukee gets a combined 63 points from Giannis and Dame
The Milwaukee Bucks were able to able to survive a career night from LaMelo Ball, escaping the Charlotte Hornets with a 125-119 victory.
Giannis Antetokounmpo maintained his strong start to games, immediately finding himself in double-digit point category. In the blink of an eye, he racked up 11 points on a perfect 5/5 shooting, including a 3-pointer. On the other side, Josh Green, Grant Williams, and Brandon Miller all had six apiece for the Hornets. That created a score that was all knotted up going into the second quarter at 28 apiece.
Damian Lillard flipped a switch in the second period, coming alive with 18 first-half points. No Charlotte scorer had over 11 points, which was the team-high coming from Brandon Miller at the break. Milwaukee sat with a 59-51 lead when halftime rolled around.
The Hornets kept buzzing around the Bucks throughout the third. LaMelo Ball began to start pouring it on and got in a bit of a groove from beyond the perimeter. However, Giannis Antetokounmpo was able to mitigate the damage Ball inflicted by scoring on his own. Headed into the final quarter of regulation, Milwaukee regained their double-digit advantage, 96-85.
Charlotte slowly found themselves back in it and late, a LaMelo Ball 3-pointer cut Milwaukee’s deficit to just five points with under a minute left. The Hornets kept scoring (LaMelo Ball actually registered a new career-high 50 points), and a Brandon Miller three made it a two-point deficit with 14.4 seconds left. However, Taurean Prince iced it at the line and the Bucks eventually secured a 125-119 win.
Stat That Stood Out
Once again, the dynamic duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard showed up in full force. Together, they combined for 63 points. I mentioned in my piece last night of how they’re starting to get more and more comfortable together and mentioned it in postgame availability. Pre-game, I asked Doc about what he’s noticed with their communication from last year to this year and received a great response. Look for that quote in my extended recap. It’s been a joy to watch these two flourish with one another on the court. The more in sync they get, the better the Bucks are and will become.
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