“Maybe they just play well against us” — Giannis Antetokounmpo on the struggles the Milwaukee Bucks had against the Charlotte Hornets
The Milwaukee Bucks won their regular-season series with the Charlotte Hornets 2-1 by way of a 124-115 decision on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee may have won two of the three meetings, but the Hornets have proven to be a tough customer for the Bucks.
Bad matchup
In those three games, Charlotte engaged the Bucks in nip-and-tuck duels, which shouldn't have been the case, considering that the two teams are night and day when it comes to their current rankings.
Even its star forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo, is not sure why the Bucks had trouble handling the Hornets.
"They're a really good team. Or maybe they just play well against us. I don't know," Antetokounmpo said shortly after the Bucks' nine-point win at the Fiserv Forum.
Challenging win of the season series
Milwaukee certainly walked the tightrope on the three occasions that they played the Hornets this season.
The Bucks were without Antetokounmpo when they defeated the Hornets in their first meeting on December 4th, 105-96.
Antetokounmpo was finally around in the two squads met again on January 7th, but the Hornets did the improbable when they pulled off a stunning victory, 138-109.
Coming into Tuesday's game, the Bucks, owner of the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, were naturally the prohibitive pick against the Hornets, who sport one of the worst records in the current season.
The duel, however, didn't look like a battle between a title contender and league tail-ender as the match featured 11 ties and 17 lead changes.
The two teams were even tied after the first half, and it took a third-quarter scoring storm from Khris Middleton before the Bucks could take control. Middleton scored 11 in a 14-3 spurt in the third period that helped the Bucks pull away.
"Charlotte is better than its win-loss record suggests," Giannis said.
That's probably the reason why the Bucks had to dig deep before overcoming the Hornets.
"Their record doesn't give them justice," Antetokounmpo said.
