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“Maybe they just play well against us” — Giannis Antetokounmpo on the struggles the Milwaukee Bucks had against the Charlotte Hornets

The Milwaukee Bucks endured a 29-point loss to the Charlotte Hornets in one of their three-game regular-season series.

Matthew Dugandzic

“Maybe they just play well against us” — Giannis Antetokounmpo on the struggles the Milwaukee Bucks had against the Charlotte Hornets
“Maybe they just play well against us” — Giannis Antetokounmpo on the struggles the Milwaukee Bucks had against the Charlotte Hornets /
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The Milwaukee Bucks won their regular-season series with the Charlotte Hornets 2-1 by way of a 124-115 decision on Tuesday night.

Milwaukee may have won two of the three meetings, but the Hornets have proven to be a tough customer for the Bucks.

Bad matchup

In those three games, Charlotte engaged the Bucks in nip-and-tuck duels, which shouldn't have been the case, considering that the two teams are night and day when it comes to their current rankings.

Even its star forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo, is not sure why the Bucks had trouble handling the Hornets.

"They're a really good team. Or maybe they just play well against us. I don't know," Antetokounmpo said shortly after the Bucks' nine-point win at the Fiserv Forum.

Challenging win of the season series

Milwaukee certainly walked the tightrope on the three occasions that they played the Hornets this season.

The Bucks were without Antetokounmpo when they defeated the Hornets in their first meeting on December 4th, 105-96.

Antetokounmpo was finally around in the two squads met again on January 7th, but the Hornets did the improbable when they pulled off a stunning victory, 138-109.

Coming into Tuesday's game, the Bucks, owner of the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, were naturally the prohibitive pick against the Hornets, who sport one of the worst records in the current season.

The duel, however, didn't look like a battle between a title contender and league tail-ender as the match featured 11 ties and 17 lead changes.

The two teams were even tied after the first half, and it took a third-quarter scoring storm from Khris Middleton before the Bucks could take control. Middleton scored 11 in a 14-3 spurt in the third period that helped the Bucks pull away.

"Charlotte is better than its win-loss record suggests," Giannis said.

That's probably the reason why the Bucks had to dig deep before overcoming the Hornets.

"Their record doesn't give them justice," Antetokounmpo said.

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.