Kemba Walker

The Milwaukee Bucks jumped out to a big lead in the first half, then went cold in the second half but managed to pull out a 113-112 win over the Charlotte Hornets in the regular season opener in Charlotte.

The Bucks led by as many as 20 points, but things got sloppy in the second half. They turned it over 21 times, eight of them by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who found himself dealing with foul trouble in the opener.

After the Bucks coughed up the lead, Antetokounmpo made a pair of free throws with 24.5 seconds to retake the lead.

The Hornets had a shot at the win, but Kemba Walker missed a contested layup and Nic Batum’s three-point attempt at the buzzer failed, giving the Bucks the win. [Read more…]

The Milwaukee Bucks rebounded from Wednesday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs by taking down the Charlotte Bobcats 108-93 Friday night.

The Bucks, who currently sit in third in the Central division at nine and nine, went into halftime with a huge 58-40 lead.

Milwaukee’s Ersan Ilyasova led the team in scoring with 21 points, and was accompanied by Marquis Daniels with 18 points, Brandon Jennings with 15 points, and Monta Ellis with 13 points.

Ilyasova also led the team in rebounds with 12, with center Larry Sanders having 10 rebounds.

Charlotte was led in scoring by Gerald Henderson with 19 points, and was one of three Bobcats to score double-digits. Charlotte’s Kemba Walker scored 16 points, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 11 in the loss.

Kidd-Gilchrist also led his team in rebounds with 11, giving both Kidd-Gilchrist of Charlotte and Ersan Ilyasova of Milwaukee double-doubles.

Milwaukee looks to build on this win as they take on the Brooklyn Nets Sunday night in Brooklyn.