The Milwaukee Bucks exterminated the Charlotte Hornets 110-91 tonight, picking up their first victory of Summer League. It was a game of runs for Milwaukee, which built a big lead early, blew it, then ultimately took things back to blowout territory down the stretch. Nate Ament led the Bucks with 23 points (Brayden Burries didn’t play), while Hannes Steinbach dominated for Charlotte with 27 points and 15 rebounds.
NBA.com Box Score
Game Recap
Bogi Markovic got the party started for the Bucks, throwing down a driving dunk and drilling a catch-and-shoot three for the team’s first five points of the night. Charlotte’s “big three” of Christian Anderson, Hannes Steinbach, and Tidjane Saluan all got some buckets early, and Nate Ament knocked down a couple pretty jumpers for Milwaukee, including an and-one triple from the right corner. The young talent for both sides was on full display. Milwaukee mounted an extended 19-4 run after the 6:02 mark of the opening quarter and finished the period with a 28-18 lead. Zack Austin’s energy was a spark on both ends during the push— he blocked three shots in his first stint off the bench alone.
The Hornets promptly tightened the gap in the second quarter, with twin trey balls from Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Kylan Boswell cutting Milwaukee’s cushion to four by the 8:05 stamp. But, then the Bucks did what all good basketball teams do: they responded to the run with a run of their own. Ament and Markovic each swished a three before Pete Nance laid the ball up in transition, restoring a 12-point advantage and forcing a Charlotte timeout within two minutes of Boswell’s shot. The Hornets hung around with some help from Saluan, but Milwaukee escaped the first half up 53-37.
Charlotte came out hot in the second stanza. They were able to reduce the lead to single digits, 61-52, with a Michael Ajayi putback dunk at the 6:14 tick. A rolling layup for Steinbach thirty seconds later capped off a 10-0 burst for the Hornets. From there, the Buzz City boys kept rolling, and what seemed like a potential no-sweat Milwaukee win was suddenly flipped into a 63-62 barn burner with 3:43 left in the third. Again, though, the Bucks had an answer, as they built a 16-0 run in the waning minutes of the period that put them up 79-64 heading into the fourth.
The Bucks managed to hold on and snuff out the funny comeback business in the final frame, despite the best efforts of Steinbach and Salaun. Kam Jones, Milwaukee’s newest two-way contract man, was a catalyst in sealing the win, as was Ament, who strung together three finishes in a row with around four minutes remaining.
Stat That Stood Out
Eight players scored double digits for the Bucks tonight: Ament, Markovic, Nance, Jones, Austin, Brandon Boston Jr., Luke Travers, and Boopie Miller. Talk about a team effort!
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