Finally. The Bucks finally buried a team they should during this winning streak. The Charlotte Hornets are a young rebuilding team and Milwaukee exposed them as such, demolishing them in Fiserv Forum, 137-96. The win streak is extended to 11 games, the longest in franchise history since the 1984-85 season.
The second game of a back-to-back can be a grueling endeavor in itself. Add in a flight between the games and you’re bound to have some guys that need rest. The Bucks sat starter Brook Lopez and bench players Sterling Brown and Thanasis Antetokounmpo for the night.
With the center position vacant, coach Mike Budenholzer elected his identical twin brother, Robin, to fill the void. What ensued was nothing short of a body switch. The younger twin came out firing, hitting his first two threes of the game and finished with three, a career-high. Not only did he take over the deep threat role, but he played the anchor in the defensive system just as his brother would. Robin finished with 13/6/4 and 3 blocks, a line that didn’t impress his brother as much as it did the fans.
The Bucks built a big lead early in the game but saw that lead dwindle quickly. In the second quarter, the lead got as low as three and I was fully prepared to have to sweat out another game that should’ve been easy. Thankfully, Milwaukee finally answered the call and buried Charlotte behind a season-high 20 three-pointers and led the assist battle, 41-21.
Giannis led the Bucks in scoring as he always does. He didn’t grab headlines in this one like he usually does, however. Giannis only saw the floor for 20 minutes but still put up 26/9/4. He failed to get that tenth rebound which effectively ended his quest for the most double-doubles to start a season, ending his streak at 19 games.
Of the thirteen players that saw minutes, all of them got on the scoreboard and nine got into double figures. The team shot 56% from the field and 46% from three compared to the Hornets and 37% and 33%, respectively. Every statistical measure favored the Bucks including the most important stat, the final score.
Milwaukee improves to 17-3 on the season and has a 2-game cushion ahead of the Toronto Raptors for the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. They finished the month of November 15-1 with their lone loss coming on a buzzer-beater at Utah. Their next game will be Monday against the New York Knicks at Fiserv Forum. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. CT.