Bucks at Hornets
The Milwaukee Bucks are having some trouble on the defensive end and hope their fortunes change when coach Jason Kidd returns to the bench as they visit the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. Kidd was suspended for Friday’s road trip opener at Orlando, where his team fell 114-90.
The Bucks have lost five of their last six games and surrendered at least 114 points in each of the setbacks. Kidd’s frustration boiled over during a 129-118 home loss to the DeMarcus Cousins-less Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, and he was suspended one game after slapping the ball away from a referee and failing to leave the court in a timely manner during a fourth-quarter outburst. The Hornets had a four-game winning streak come to a halt with a 95-90 home loss to Cleveland on Friday in a rare down night for the improving offense. Charlotte averages 103.4 points and had put up 114.3 during its four-game winning streak.
TV: 2 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (6-10): Milwaukee was outscored 37-22 in a decisive third quarter on Friday, and the poor defense has the team searching for answers. “It's no one person's fault at all. It's our team,” reserve guard O.J. Mayo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We have to help one another in every area, whether it's help-side defense or trying offensively to get guys a better shot, set better screens for each other. Collectively we've got to raise it up a notch." The Magic shot 52.4 percent from the field on Friday after Sacramento knocked down 57.1 percent in the previous contest.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (9-7): Charlotte ran into the top team in the Eastern Conference on Friday in the Cleveland Cavaliers and hung around until the final minute before falling. The loss dropped the Hornets to 4-1 on their seven-game homestand, which wraps up with a visit from the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. Nicolas Batum had 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists in another solid performance on Friday but went 1-of-7 from 3-point range and is 5-of-21 from beyond the arc in the last three contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Hornets took two of the three meetings last season, two of which went to overtime.
2. Milwaukee G Michael Carter-Williams totaled seven points on 1-of-10 shooting in the last two games.
3. Charlotte G/F P.J. Hairston is 2-of-11 from 3-point range in three games since returning from a quad injury.