The Milwaukee Bucks were without stars Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday. Giannis was out due to knee soreness; Middleton was held out as part of his return to competition; Holiday was held out with knee soreness. The Hornets were also without LaMelo Ball, who is recovering from a sprained ankle. However, the Bucks were able to use the depth on their bench to defeat the Charlotte Hornets 105-96 on Saturday night. Despite playing without their stars, the Bucks were in control the whole game.
Everybody scored tonight in a big team win over the Hornets. pic.twitter.com/u2kV95wCgG
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 4, 2022
Three Studs
Brook Lopez
It is getting difficult to come up with new ways to describe how incredible Brook Lopez is playing this year, especially on defense. I mean, just look at this graphic:
Most Blocks by a Player this season:
67 — Brook Lopez
66
65
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50 — Nicolas Claxton pic.twitter.com/D1vJVe3LDv— NBA World (@NBAW0RLD24) December 4, 2022
Lopez had a season-high seven blocks against the Hornets. He added 14 points and six rebounds on 4-11 shooting (3-5 from three). Lopez is now averaging a career-high 41.7% from three and leads the NBA with a career-high 3.0 blocks per game.
The amazing Block Lopez!! pic.twitter.com/e4iYWGUcv7
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 4, 2022
Related: Bucks: Brook Lopez Is Betting Favorite to Win Defensive Player of the Year
Bobby Portis
Starting in place of Giannis, Bobby Portis was as efficient as the basketball as anyone could have asked. He poured in 20 points on 9-18 shooting (1-5 from three). Portis added eight rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes of play. Despite coming off the bench for most of this season, Portis is averaging a double-double (13.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game).
Bobby Buckets.™️
20 PTS | 8 REB | 7 AST pic.twitter.com/20iSZCCL1P
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 4, 2022
Jordan Nwora
Starting in place of Khris Middleton was Jordan Nwora, who has had an up-and-down season (again) thus far. Fortunately, Nwora was on his game against the Hornets, knocking down seven of 11 shots (2-4 from three) to the tune of 17 points. He was also aggressive on the boards, grabbing three offensive rebounds.
Jordan showed out tonight.
17 PTS | 4 REB | 7-11 FGM pic.twitter.com/FSXrDypqoj
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 4, 2022
Three Duds
To be honest, it is difficult to be too upset about any individual performances in a game like this. Thanasis Antetokounmpo got 18 minutes of playing time and was his usual high-energy self. In other words, he made some mistakes due to his aggression, but also was a factor on defense. George Hill committed four turnovers, but also had eight points and five assists. Sandro Mamukelashvili was only 2-6 from the field, but grabbed six rebounds and had a block in just 15 minutes.
Even second-round pick AJ Green was pretty impressive, scoring a career-high eight points on 2-3 shooting (2-2 from three).
In other words, there are no duds from this game.
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