Recap/Analysis: Hornets lose by less to the Bucks – At The Hive

Brandon Miller had a team high 21 points and the Charlotte Hornets were mostly competitive, but they still lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 111-99.

Summary

The Hornets got off to a very slow start and looked like they were in over their head again. They didn’t get their first field goal until the 7:50 mark when Tre Mann flipped in a little floater. That helped them find their footing, and the rest of the quarter was played pretty evenly. Seth Curry and Grant Williams provided a spark off the bench, and the Hornets trailed by only ten at the end of the first.

Brandon Miller and Seth Curry hit a few jumpers to start the second quarter and pull the Hornets a little closer. Miller went on to score 12 points in the quarter and they came in all shapes and sizes. He hit a couple of spot up threes, a mid range jumper, and a couple of crafty finishes around length at the rim. The Hornets went a little cold in the latter stages of the second quarter while the Bucks hit six straight shot attempts. When a missed shot broke the streak, Giannis Antetokounmpo swatted at the rebound and inadvertently knocked it straight to Damian Lillard, who cashed in a three. The run put the Hornets down 19 at the half.

The Bucks scored four straight to start the second half, but that was answered by a step back three from Tre Mann. The quarter was pretty uneventful otherwise. Neither team went on an exceptional run and no one player stood out on either side. The Hornets outscored the Bucks by a point and trimmed their deficit to 18 heading into the fourth.

The Bucks blitzed the Hornets out of the gate to start the fourth and opened up a 25 point lead. It put the game out of the Hornets’ reach, but the Hornets responded well enough to jusitfy keeping regular rotation players in the game for a lot of the quarter. Davis Bertans hit a three and got fouled shooting another to trim the deficit to under 20. The Bucks went to their bench to close out the game, and the Hornets took advantage to add some window dressing to the score. They went on a 17-3 run over the middle to late parts of the fourth quarter to make the Bucks a little uncomfortable and even forced Doc Rivers to take a timeout. Bertans’ second three of the quarter pulled Hornets within 10, but by that point there wasn’t enough time for it to matter.

The Good

Brandon Miller was more assertive this game than he’s been in recent outings and it paid off with a team high 21 points. He struggled with his shot in the second half, but he scored well enough in the first half to end up with an overall productive outing. His full offensive arsenal was on display with him scoring at all three levels of the floor. He finishes the month of February averaging a shade under 21 points per game. He’s practically a shoo-in to win his second straight rookie of the month.

I continue to be impressed with Tre Mann. I thought of him only as a microwave scorer when the Hornets acquired him from the Thunder a few weeks ago. He’s been a much more well rounded player than that.

The bench played really well offensively. Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and Davis Bertans combined to go 7-of-13 from three and scored 38 points total. Vasilije Micic’s shooting struggles continued, but he did drop seven dimes. It’s a dead horse at this point, but it still hasn’t gotten old seeing a bench unit that is actually able to compete.

In the preview, I laid out four goals that the Hornets should try to achieve for the first time against the Bucks all season.

• Score 100 points
• Hold the Bucks to fewer than 120 points ✔️
• Lose by fewer than 30 points ✔️
• Make at least 28% of their 3-point shot attempts ✔️

Three out of four ain’t bad. I think we can almost call that a win.

The Bad

There wasn’t any one player or element of the game that stood out as egregiously bad for the Hornets. Miles Bridges didn’t shoot the ball well, but he contributed in other ways as has normally been the case. Cody Martin and Nick Richards were quieter than you’d like but nothing too terrible.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo is bad. He got a technical foul from the bench in the first half. It’s funny to hear Dell Curry’s contempt with Thanasis’s antics.

What’s Next

The Hornets are back on the road to face the reeling but rested Philadelphia 76ers.