Damian Lillard poured in 29 points and Bobby Portis racked up 23 as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks halted a four-game losing streak by drilling the Charlotte Hornets 112-102 on Wednesday night.
Brook Lopez provided 14 points, Gary Trent Jr. came off the bench for 13 points and Taurean Prince had 11 points for the Bucks, who built an early double-digit lead.
Neither Lillard, Portis nor Lopez played in Monday night’s loss at Oklahoma City, so they looked fresh in this game. Lopez drained four of the team’s 18 baskets from 3-point range.
The Bucks, who shot 50.6 percent from the field, played again without star power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, their leading scorer (31.8 points per game) and rebounder (12.2). They didn’t seem hampered, however, because of energy brought by players who were in the lineup.
The Hornets suffered their sixth consecutive loss despite 23 points from Nick Smith Jr. Miles Bridges and KJ Simpson each scored 15 points, while Moussa Diabate, who hauled in 13 rebounds, and Tidjane Salaun supplied 10 points apiece.
Charlotte, which connected on 43.2 percent of its shots from the floor, has won only once in the first eight games of a nine-game homestand.
Lillard, who shot 9-for-18 from the field with three 3-point baskets, also distributed 12 assists. Portis, who made 10 of his 21 shots, grabbed 17 rebounds for his third-highest total of the season in that category.
The Bucks opened with a 38-point first quarter and that set the tone. Their lead was 66-56 at halftime as they were on the way to snapping their largest skid since the first month of the season.
The Hornets were within 86-77 when the fourth quarter began, but Milwaukee’s lead reached 21 points when AJ Green sank a 3-point shot with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining.
While Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, who has been out for more than a week with an ankle injury, has returned to some on-court activity, he sat out Wednesday’s game.
Smith made four 3-point shots, but Charlotte was 32.4 percent (11-for-34) from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
