Bucks 118, Hornets 108: Snell's shooting leads to big road win

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Giannis Antetokounmpo said the Milwaukee Bucks are playing the best they have since he joined the team in 2013.

And what a time it is for them to be doing it, in the middle of a wild scramble for playoff spots over the final stretch of the season.

On Tuesday the Bucks stayed in step with a 118-108 victory over the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center, winning for the 12th time in their last 15 games. Tony Snell started off hot and never cooled off, and the Bucks defense kept the clamps on the Hornets' three-point game.

Snell scored a career-high 26 points as he hit 10 of 14 shots, including 4 of 8 three-pointers. Antetokounmpo added 20 points and eight rebounds and headed to the airport carrying a jug of sweet tea for the trip to Boston, where the Bucks play the second in a back-to-back set Wednesday night.

"I think right now we're playing the best basketball we've ever played, since I've been here," Antetokounmpo said. "My second year in the league we went to the playoffs and we were playing good basketball. But it was nothing compared to this right now.

BOX SCORE: Bucks 118, Hornets 108

NBA: Standings | Playoff picture | Scoreboard

"We're growing up as players and we're getting more mature as a team. Khris (Middleton) has grown up; I've grown up. Everybody is stepping up since JP (Jabari Parker) and Beas (Michael Beasley) went down. I'm happy to see everybody is trying to do the little things for us to achieve our goals."

The Bucks took control early, scoring 35 points in the first quarter and grabbing a 72-50 halftime lead behind 72.5% shooting. Milwaukee finished the game shooting 62.2% overall (46 for 74) and hit 14 of 30 three-point attempts.

Snell's aggressiveness showed from the start as he opened the game with a baseline dunk, setting the tone for his huge night. He had 12 points in the first quarter on 5-for-7 shooting.

"We knew what our mistakes were (in a loss to Chicago on Sunday); we had to come out better," Snell said. "We had a lot more energy."

The Bucks stayed in a virtual tie with Atlanta, which ended a seven-game skid with a home win over Phoenix. Atlanta (38-36) remains in fifth in the Eastern Conference standings via a tiebreaker with Milwaukee, which is sixth. The Bucks gained a full game on seventh-place Indiana (37-37), which lost at home to Minnesota, and stayed two games ahead of eighth-place Miami (36-38), which beat Detroit (34-40) on a tip-in at the buzzer by Hassan Whiteside.

Milwaukee handed a serious setback to the fading playoff hopes of the Hornets (33-41), dropping them three games out of the eighth spot.

"They just put a lot more into it than we did," said Hornets coach Steve Clifford. "They played harder right from the beginning. Our defense was beyond bad.

"I think you should be able to play well 82 times; that's what the best teams do. With this team, we've been much more sporadic in our effort and tonight was disappointing."

Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 26 points and former University of Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky had 20 off the bench. But the Bucks allowed just 25% shooting from three-point range (7 for 28) by the Hornets.

"I thought the guys came in with the right mind-set to be aggressive on the road, knowing what's at stake," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "Our defense got us going early.

"We looked fresh; we looked like we could move. Against Chicago, we looked slightly tired and we exhaled."

Milwaukee extended its lead to 26 points in the third quarter.

Charlotte made a run behind Jeremy Lamb and Kaminsky to cut the Bucks' lead to 11 points, but Snell scored on a drive moments after being put back in the game. His corner three a few moments later gave the Bucks a 111-97 lead with 3:11 remaining.

"I was just reading the defenders," Snell said. "My teammates draw a lot of attention and they trust me to make plays. Whether it's backing up and shooting or just driving it."

Malcolm Brogdon had 14 points and 10 assists and Khris Middleton added 14 points. Middleton suffered a freak collision in the final minutes when he bumped heads with Hornets guard Marco Belinelli.

Belinelli was bleeding and had to have stitches taken, and Middleton had three stitches in his left forehead. But he said he was fine after the game.

"He was reaching (for the ball) and I was trying to turn the corner," Middleton said. "It was just an accident, that's all."

Middleton said the Bucks stuck to the game plan and it paid off.

"For most of the game we played at our pace, our defense," Middleton said. "We tried to put pressure on them and make sure all the shots they were shooting were contested and we had each other's backs on drives.

"We did a good job of talking, figuring out the rotations and matching up."

THREE TAKEAWAYS

1. The Bucks shot a season-best 72.5% in the first half while building a 22-point lead at intermission. Milwaukee hit 29 of 40 shots, including 9 of 16 from three-point range. The Bucks’ 72 first-half points were two shy of their season-best total of 74, set at Phoenix on Feb. 4.

2. Veteran forward Michael Beasley took part in the Bucks shootaround Tuesday morning but is not ready to return to action yet. Bucks coach Jason Kidd said it was great to have him back on the floor, however, and “to hear his voice.” Beasley has been sidelined since suffering a left knee injury Feb. 27 in Cleveland.

3. Khris Middleton had a plus-31 plus-minus rating at halftime and finished at plus-29. Tony Snell and Malcolm Brogdon each were plus-12.

UP NEXT

Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (38-36) vs. Boston Celtics (48-26).

When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: TD Garden.

About the Celtics: Boston moved into the top spot in the Eastern Conference with Cleveland’s loss at San Antonio on Monday, marking the first time the Celtics have had the conference’s best record since the end of the 2007-’08 season. Boston has won four in a row and seven of its last eight games, with the only loss coming on the road to Philadelphia. Point guard Isaiah Thomas is averaging 29.1 points and 5.9 assists. He scored 37 points against the Bucks in the teams’ first meeting, a 112-108 Celtics overtime victory in Milwaukee on Jan. 28.