Charlotte is one of the peskier teams in the NBA. They are like they’re nickname, the Hornets. You think of a hornet, they annoy you, harrass you and sometimes bite you. Milwaukee did not have it on Friday night. Call it an off night, call it too much time off, but Bucks looked sluggish. Charlotte led for most of the game then in the fourth, Milwaukee found a way to get hot the right time. Bucks put the clamps down on Charlotte’s offense. Bucks outscored the Hornets in the fourth quarter, 32-12, in one of their best fourth quarter efforts of the year.

Player of the Game: Giannis Antetokounmpo – Even though Bucks were off, Giannis still got himself some buckets. Antetokounmpo finished the game with 34 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. He also added three blocks and three steals making him damn close to a 5-5-5-5-5 game. Even though Charlotte continues to be a thorny matchup for Milwaukee, they have no answer for Giannis. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is too small. They do not have a rim protector with Cody Zeller out.

Silver Star: Malcolm Brogdon – Prez did not have a great night until the fourth quarter. He got hot at the right time. Brogdon helped Milwaukee in the fourth along with Giannis. We had a podcast this week about people hating Khris Middleton, and nights like this make me think that Brogdon can be the second-best player on the team.

Positive: Coming back from the death – Bucks are the best team in the NBA record-wise, but they haven’t been in many situations like Friday night. Milwaukee has the largest margin of victory of any team in the NBA. This was a great game for Bucks to put themselves in that situation. Obviously, it’s not one you want to be in often, but it’s good for Milwaukee to have this experience to find a way to win.

Negative: Three-point malfunction – This looked like the Bucks teams of old on Friday night. Everything seemed to clank off the rim from deep. Bucks made a grand total of six threes all night. Eric Bledsoe was especially bad last night with seven missed threes. Milwaukee isn’t going to win many games shooting like that, but their defense obviously bailed them out.

Highlight of the night: Giannis with the spin move to give Milwaukee the lead late.

MIDDLE CHILD#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/UFQakxUW3Z

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 26, 2019

Next up: Big game on Sunday evening as the Bucks take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bucks have won six straight. Thunder are one of the best home teams in the NBA with a 16-7 record. They’ll be looking for a little revenge after Giannis had a controversial tip-in to beat them in Oklahoma last season.

Charlie.