New Orleans Hornets own the second half to dismantle Milwaukee Bucks 102-81: NBA Recap
The New Orleans Hornets crushed the Milwaukee Bucks 102-81 here at New Orleans Arena on Monday night, their 11th consecutive win over the Bucks.
Six Hornets made it into double digit scoring figures. Ryan Anderson scored the team high 22 on a 9 for 14 shooting and grabbed 7 rebounds, Robin Lopez added 21 points, as he went 8 of 10 from the floor. Guard Greivis Vasquez had
11 points and 9 assists to complement the Hornets’ bench which was outstanding on the night. Three NOH reserves came off the bench to add 32 points for the winning cause.
Brandon Jennings paced the Bucks with a game high 25 points; Monta Elis collected 17 points with six assists but no other Buck made a significant contribution in the scoring department.
The Hornets shot 52.4 percent from the floor compared to 38.2 percent by the Bucks, and were perfect from the free throw line, 11-of-11. The Bucks did not look like the team that has lost its last 10 games against the Hornets as
they played well early on and managed to keep the Hornets within 3 points in the first half. However, the Hornets pulled away in the third quarter and then raced to victory in the fourth.
The first period was pretty even throughout. After the Bucks started off with a 9-4 run, the Hornets bounced back and an Al-Farouq Aminu jump shot put them up by 15-14 early in the quarter. The score was tied on 21 and two free
throws by Larry Sanders left the Bucks trailing 28-30 at the end of the period.
Two back to back three pointers opened up a ten point advantage for the Hornets on 43-33 nearly midway through the second before Mike Dunleavy nailed one in from downtown to reduce the Bucks deficit down to 41-45, 4:30 left for
the break. The Bucks came within 2 going into the last 3 minutes, but Hornets held on before Ellis knocked down a three pointer with only a second to go in the period to make it a three point game at halftime.
Milwaukee started the third period by taking the lead for the first time since the first quarter as they went ahead 60-58 after a John Henson layup just inside the fourth minute. The Hornets did not like that, they replied with
a 13 zip spree to snatch the lead, 71-60. The Bucks scored the next five points to slash the deficit down to 6, but Anderson made three consecutive jumpers to push the Hornets to 77-67 by the end of the period.
The hosts got off to a flying start in the fourth period; they raced to 89-72 at the back of an 8-0 run. New Orleans kept pulling ahead and Greivis Vasquez sank one in from behind the arc to push their lead to 98-78 with 1:58 minutes
on the regulation. The writing on the wall was pretty clear by that point and the Hornets went on to win by 102-81.
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