Bucks Zone

Milwaukee Bucks snap a three-game skid, beat the Charlotte Hornets

The Bucks improved to 2-5 under coach Doc Rivers.
Matthew Dugandzic|
© Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

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Milwaukee Bucks

Damian Lillard returned from a two-game absence, and the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a three-game losing streak by thrashing the Charlotte Hornets, 120-84, on Friday night.

Lillard was out due to a sprained ankle when Milwaukee lost to the Phoenix Suns, 106-1114, and then to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 105-129 loss. He made up for lost time by firing 26 points as the Bucks won just for the second time in seven games under coach Rivers.

Doc gets 1,099th win

By tallying his first home game win, Rivers climbed to eighth spot for most regular season wins among coaches in NBA history with 1,099 victories. Doc moved past Larry Brown (1,098) in the all-time list.

Malik Beasley added 21 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 15 points and 15 rebounds in just 24 minutes of play. Also scoring in double figures for the Bucks were Bobby Portis Jr. and Brook Lopez, who tallied 18 and 15 points, respectively.

Wire-to-wire victory

The Bucks had the luxury of resting Giannis after they led by 28 points at the half and padded the lead to as many as 42 in the final two quarters as they easily hiked their record to 34-19. Milwaukee improved to 22-6 at home, which is one of the best home records in the season.

The Bucks took full control of the match by limiting the Hornets to just 17 points in the opening period while scoring 31 of their own.

Brandon Miller and Nick Richards scored 16 points for the Hornets, who suffered their ninth-straight loss to drop to 10-41. It was Milwaukee’s second-straight win against Charlotte as it also won in their first meeting on November 17th, 130-99.

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.