The Milwaukee Bucks remain undefeated in NBA Cup play through 10 games, beating the Charlotte Hornets in overtime, 147-134. Kyle Kuzma had his best game as a Buck, going for 29 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, while Giannis ended with 25 points, 18 assists, and seven rebounds. Rookie Kon Knueppel and Miles Bridges each scored 32 for the Hornets, with Knueppel going 12/20 from the floor.
Ryan Rollins got the party started on the first possession of the game, nailing a corner three off a feed from Giannis. Offensive rebounding was an issue once again for the Bucks in the early goings, with Moussa Diabate grabbing two boards in the first three minutes of the game, cashing a layup in on the second. Kyle Kuzma was inserted into the starting lineup, with Doc Rivers swapping him in for Gary Trent Jr., and he made his presence felt early. Kuzma scored six straight points to put the Bucks up by one with 6:21 to go. Myles Turner then caught fire from beyond the arc, hitting three straight from distance on three straight possessions, followed by a Kuzma three to put them up by five. After staggering the pair of Turner and Giannis for the last couple of games, the Bucks went back to a full bench lineup for the final 2:51 of the quarter, with Jericho Sims, Bobby Portis, Cole Anthony, Trent, and Gary Harris out there. It worked initially, with the Bucks going up seven off the first possession, but the Hornets quickly took control. They went on an 11-0 run to briefly take the lead in the late stages. Yet, a pull-up mid-range jumper from Anthony and a three from Portis with 10 seconds left sent the Bucks up by one, 34-33, going into the second.
The rarely-used Harris started the second much like Rollins did in the first, with a corner three off an assist from Giannis. Then the Bucks defense seemingly began to fall apart, with the Hornets guards blowing by them in the 2-3 zone. Charlotte scored on three drives to the lane and was able to re-take the lead in part because of that. Doc finally called a timeout after Sion James hit a three, putting the Hornets up by six with 7:20 to go. The Bucks couldn’t find any momentum on the defensive end, even without LaMelo Ball on the floor. With the Bucks down by four, the Hornets went on a 9-3 run to go up by 10. Kuzma continued his strong performance, scoring a couple of layups and even assisting on one. Then the highlight of the half came when Tre Mann rose and dunked on Turner to put the visitors back up by 10. The Bucks did get within six with 1:12 to go in the quarter, but a dunk from Diabate with 18 seconds left and an air-ball from Kuzma sent the Bucks into the locker room down by eight, 69-61. Charlotte was running a blistering offense, at one point shooting 11/15 in the quarter, before finishing 13/21 for 36 points to the Bucks’ 27.
The third quarter was a bit of a back-and-forth between the two sides, but there were some positives in it for the Bucks. AJ Green, who was in the midst of a poor run of form, got going on the offensive end. Green hit a couple of threes and made three free throws after being fouled by rookie Kon Knueppel. After the second three and a spinning layup in transition by Giannis, the Bucks got it back within four points, forcing a timeout from Hornets head coach Charles Lee. Milwaukee continued to find their feet offensively in the third, even after the timeout by Lee. They went on a 12-5 run to take back the lead, with Turner and Rollins hitting threes, and Kuzma finishing it off with an and-one layup. It became a nip-and-tuck game from there on out, with neither team gaining much of an edge. Unlike in the first quarter, the all-bench lineup worked against the Hornets, building up a six-point lead with 1:33 to go. Charlotte was able to bring it down to two points, but a Gary Harris banked three with 12 seconds left gave the Bucks a 103-98 lead heading into the fourth.
Things stayed tight as far as the middle point of the quarter, with both teams trading buckets for a bit. The Bucks did lead by three early, but a four-point run for Miles Bridges off some free throws and a layup gave the Hornets the lead. Milwaukee did come back to tie it a few minutes later, but a Knueppel layup gave Charlotte the lead right back. Then, after a bad turnover by Anthony, Doc called a timeout with 6:55 to go. After the Hornets went up by four, Rollins and Kuzma came alive again for the Bucks, with the former Toledo point guard hitting a three and then a layup in transition to give the Bucks the lead right back. Kuzma hit a hook shot after Rollins made yet another three to give the Bucks a two-point lead after shots inside from Ball and Knueppel. Both sides traded buckets again until Rollins hit a mid-range jumper to give the Bucks a two-point lead with 1:18 left in regulation. After a foul by Giannis put the Bucks over the limit with under two minutes, Ball only hit 1/2 of his free throws, making the second. Kuzma again proved his mettle down the stretch with another hook shot to put the Bucks up by three with 27 ticks left on the clock. On the next possession, a wild sequence of events unfolded when a missed poster by Bridges led to the Milwaukee native, Knueppel, hitting a big-time three to tie the game with 21 seconds left. Giannis tried to recreate his magical game-winner from last week against the Indiana Pacers, but this one fell way short, and the fans at Fiserv got some free NBA Cup basketball, with the game tied at 129-129.
Turner came alive in the most significant moments of the game in overtime, hitting two three-pointers, and after a dunk from Giannis, the Bucks went up by six, 137-131, with 2:25 on the clock. The lead got as big as nine after Kuzma nailed a wing three, but Bridges answered right back with a three of his own. After a layup from Giannis, he stole the ball away from Bridges, leading to a wide-open dunk to seal the game. Since this is the NBA Cup, score differential matters, so Green took a three and got fouled, extending the final tally.
“Live by the three, die by the three” has in some ways become the new mantra in the NBA, and it certainly was for the Bucks tonight. In this case, they lived, shooting 20/34 (58.8%) from deep, while the Hornets shot 17/46 (37%). It especially lifted Milwaukee in the third quarter when they were trailing, as they went 5/7 from deep to come back from a nine-point deficit and take a five-point lead heading into the fourth.
