Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 126-114 loss to Charlotte Hornets
By Dalton Sell
Following an ugly loss against New Orleans Friday night, the Milwaukee Bucks sought to get back in the win column against the Charlotte Hornets.
It was a game full of twists and turns, but the Bucks ended up suffering their second consecutive defeat with a disheartening 126-114 loss to the Hornets. There were several good individual performances, most notably 34 points, 18 rebounds, and nine assists for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jrue Holiday chipped in 21 points and five assists, while Khris Middleton poured in a quiet 18 points.
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As a unit, this was another lackluster performance from the Bucks. Racking up their eighth loss of the season 19 games in, this team certainly has to regain their identity.
They have several things internally to address ahead of Monday’s matchup, but in the meantime, here are three takeaways from the defeat against Charlotte.
Takeaway No. 3 from loss to Charlotte Hornets – Milwaukee Bucks fall short of another comeback
The Bucks came out with an immediate sense of urgency in their matchup against the Charlotte Hornets, building up an early 10 point lead in the first. They appeared to be in the driver’s seat with Charlotte struggling to get things going wanting to set the tone after letting the game get out of hand in New Orleans the night before. However, this is the NBA, and no lead is ever safe.
The Hornets started piecing things together on both ends, and before the Bucks could blink, they were facing a 39-31 deficit after the first quarter to one of the worst opening period teams in the league. Soon after, the Bucks found themselves down 20. Milwaukee battled back to cut the Charlotte lead down to four at halftime, and they fought restlessly in the second half before losing control of things in the fourth quarter.
Sound familiar? It should because it was the exact same scenario that happened against the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night. The Bucks were down by nearly 30 in the first half and worked their way back into the contest before losing in the final quarter.
Just like the New Orleans game, Milwaukee ran out of gas in the final period and looked drained of life as they let the game slip away. With the game knotted within single digits for most of the final 12 minutes, the Bucks logged an abysmal six turnovers in that span, and the Hornets, being one of the best scoring teams off turnovers, certainly capitalized.
While it is honorable that the Bucks did not throw in the towel in either of their past two matchups, they should not be finding themselves facing such deficits to begin with.