Electricity filled the BMO Harris Bradley Center, but for the second consecutive year, the Bucks failed to build off the excitement on their season opener and fell to the Charlotte Hornets, 107-96.
Right out of the gates, the Bucks were caught off guard and proved to have a difficulty regaining any momentum. Charlotte stormed out front thanks in large part to the contributions of the trio of Marvin Williams, Kemba Walker and Cody Zeller, who came off the bench. For a majority of the first quarter, the score wobbled into double digit figures to Charlotte’s advantage. However, the Bucks were able to cut the lead to single digits once the first period ended, 32-24.
The deficit only widened throughout the second period. A string of Cody Zeller free throws quickly pushed the Hornets’ lead to 14 at 38-24. The Bucks would keep fighting as they clawed back and would scrape single digits on multiple occasions, but every time their rally was killed by a response on the other end. A Mirza Teletovic layup slashed the lead to 46-39 at the 2:34 mark, but a Kemba Walker 3-pointer killed any momentum gained. Charlotte would end the half leading 56-41.
Jason Kidd hinted at the timeliness of Charlotte’s baskets as reason for their unwillingness to concede the lead.
“For us, they shot 30 percent from the 3-point line,” said Kidd. “When you’re behind, the margin of error is very slim. We didn’t have anything to play with in that sense and that put us behind.”
It was the same story in the beginning of the second half. A small run led by Kidd-Gilchrist extended the Hornet lead to 19 and just ninety seconds later, a Roy Hibbert jumper made it 67-47. Hibbert finished with eight points on three-of-five shooting.
Kemba Walker praised the addition of Roy Hibbert, saying his smart sense aids the team in a positive manner.
“He just brings a different dynamic to our team,” said Walker. “He changes a lot of shots and gives us the opportunity to get stops.”
The Bucks would close into the Charlotte lead multiple times in the fourth quarter, getting to 10 points on different occasions but just could not finish the job.
“Any time we made a run, they made a three,” said Kidd. “We’ll go back and look at the video and see what we can get better at.”
For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with a game-high 31 points, including some jumpers throughout the game, including one 3-pointer.
“Giannis was great tonight,” said Kidd. “We need that for the whole season. He’s got to get his teammates to join him.”
Antetokounmpo now has three 30+ point games in his career. His 31 points are tied with Marques Johnson (10/20/78) for the fifth-most in a home opener in franchise history.
Up next, the Bucks will host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. It is the first game of a back-to-back as they will then travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons on Sunday before heading to New Orleans on November 1.