Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 109-104 win over Charlotte Hornets

Clutching it out

With a few minutes left and the score close, it was anybody’s ball game in Milwaukee. The game would come down to each team’s last few possessions and how they used them.

Last season, when the Bucks’ slow and crowded late-game play dragged them to a 26th ranking in clutch net rating, the result of this contest may have been much different.

Instead, Milwaukee’s more versatile and mature core, which has taken them to a seventh place ranking this season, took charge. Bledsoe sliced to the basket for a layup, while Antetokounmpo secured a steal and took the ball coast-to-coast for a bucket that more or less sealed the game’s outcome.

Coach Kidd opted to use Maker as his center to close out the game, and that decision wound up paying off, with Thon blocking a Jeremy Lamb dunk attempt, forcing a miss with an excellent contest a few trips later, and avoiding the mistakes that he tends to fall into at times.

The Bucks look much more comfortable executing ad performing when the stakes are high, a trait that will benefit them on the bigger stage of the playoffs later in the season.

Next: Podcast, Free-throwgate, and Mailbag

The Bucks will look to take two straight from the Hornets on the road onSaturday night, as the teams play again with at 6pm CT tip.