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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Baron Davis claims he called it.
|  | | P.J. Brown fouls Milwaukee's' Mark Pope as he goes up for a shot, but the Hornets beat the Bucks. |
"I called for the ball because I knew I was going to make that
shot," said Davis, whose 89-footer at the third-quarter buzzer
highlighted the Charlotte Hornets' 103-93 victory over the
Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.
"I called it," Davis reiterated, knowing nobody would believe
him. "Ask Lindsey Hunter."
Well, Jamal Mashburn had to vouch for his teammate -- "He called
for it and said he was going to make it," he said -- because
Milwaukee's locker room was mostly silent.
The Bucks sat around in disbelief at the way they had been
manhandled by Mashburn & Co. before a rare sellout crowd at the
Bradley Center.
Mashburn nearly had a triple-double with 32 points, 10 rebounds
and nine assists, and Davis added 21 points as the Hornets won in
Milwaukee for the second time this season.
"They got their confidence going and we couldn't stop them. We
didn't play defense from 1 to 5," Bucks center Ervin Johnson
fumed. "They did whatever they wanted to do and we didn't have any
effort to try to stop them."
The Central Division-leading Bucks are an Eastern
Conference-best 19-8 at home, but they lost both of their games
against the Hornets at the Bradley Center. They were beaten by
Charlotte 106-90 on Nov. 24 in Milwaukee.
"We played a very loose, irresponsible basketball game the
whole night," Bucks coach George Karl said. "We thought Charlotte
would cave in and give it to us."
The problem for Milwaukee was an old one: they didn't play
defense.
"We've got a lot of guys that love to step up and make
offensive plays," Karl said. "In fact, we get in fights all the
time on whose turn it is offensively. And I don't know if we've got
one guy rather than Ervin that really cares about stopping
somebody.
"Our individual pride in covering the ball ... is a joke,"
Karl said. "I bet the opposing team gets confused where to go half
the time because they have so many opportunities to attack."
The Hornets pulled away with 16-2 run spanning the third and
fourth quarters. In the middle of the run was one of the most
amazing buzzer-beaters ever.
After Glenn Robinson made two free throws with seven-tenths of a
second left in the third period, Davis took the inbounds pass near
his own basket and heaved a right-handed rainbow shot that went in
to the astonishment of the sold-out Bradley Center.
The extraordinary basket gave the Hornets a 76-67 lead heading
into the fourth quarter, and the Hornets would score the next seven
points to boot.
"It had a huge effect," Davis said. "After that, we went on a
nice run."
Hornets coach Paul Silas didn't care whether Davis called the
basket or not.
"That was huge. I think that took a lot of wind out of their
sails," he said. "For that kind of shot to go in, it just saps
you of your will."
Robinson concurred: "It was a six-point game and that shot made
it nine. We were already searching the whole night and that
definitely hurt us."
Johnson argued the Bucks, who led 50-49 at halftime, were done
long before Davis' 89-footer, though.
"That was just icing on the cake, I guess you could say,"
Johnson said.
Game notes
Hornets sixth man Derrick Coleman sat out with a strained
left calf. He was placed on the injured list after getting hurt
Friday night against the Lakers. ... Bucks F Darvin Ham, recovering
from a broken left foot, had a long workout Saturday. He's expected
back in March.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Charlotte Clubhouse
Milwaukee Clubhouse
RECAPS
Chicago 89
Miami 82
Dallas 112
Washington 105
Houston 92
Cleveland 80
Charlotte 103
Milwaukee 93
Boston 85
Portland 81
Atlanta 101
Seattle 94
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