Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener

The Milwaukee Bucks were winners on opening night in Charlotte, despite averting a second half collapse in dramatic fashion. Here are the game’s key takeaways.

The Milwaukee Bucks refused to be distracted by the suave Charlotte Hornets and their throwback look on Wednesday night, barely hanging on for the 113-112 victory.

The Bucks and newly hired head coach Mike Budenholzer, went into the second half with a 13-point lead, knocking down 11 of their first 22 shots from beyond the arc.

Budenholzer presented a much bigger lineup for most of the game, dicing up minutes for six of the team’s frontcourt members, including Giannis Antetokounmpo (6’11”), Khris Middleton (6’8”), Brook Lopez (7’0”), Ersan Ilyasova (6’10”), John Henson (6’11”), and Christian Wood (6’10”). Rebounding, of course, wasn’t an issue the entire night, as the team drastically led in that column with 57 total.

The strategy worked to perfection until the fourth quarter when Charlotte began to catch on.

Milwaukee struggled terribly with defending the 3-ball, and was unable to rein in the aggressiveness of Kemba Walker, who went off for 41 points. The Hornets embraced their smaller and buoyant lineup in the second half, slowly chopping away at the lead with easy transition buckets and uncontested 3s.

Though the Bucks looked vulnerable in the late stages of the game, especially with their star player Antetokounmpo getting into foul trouble, they were able to execute well enough offensively to secure the win.

Here are three things that stood out in their performance.