CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ With Giannis Antetokounmpo held out due to right knee soreness, the Milwaukee Bucks turned to their security blanket, Khris Middleton, with the game on the line.
Trailing the Charlotte Hornets by two with 21.1 seconds left, Middleton took the inbound pass and went to work against Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who was carrying five fouls. Try as he might, Middleton couldn't get past Kidd Gilchrist and settled for a tough 18-foot fadeaway that wouldn't fall.
Middleton, who finished with 31 points, made it close with a 3-pointer after a pair of free throws by Michael Carter-Williams, but Eric Bledsoe's last-second 3-pointer missed the rim entirely and the Bucks fell, 111-106, on Saturday night at the Spectrum Center.
Milwaukee shot just 8 of 21 in a 21-point fourth quarter, with Middleton accounting for 11 points and four of the field goals. The Bucks also racked up fouls quickly, committing 14 in the period and putting the Hornets in the bonus for more than seven minutes. Charlotte took advantage, making 16 of their 20 fourth-quarter free throws to earn the win.
The game was tight through the first half as both teams worked into the flow while playing the second game of their back-to-back, home-and-home series. They traded runs, with the Bucks putting together their best stretch in the second quarter when two-way guard Sean Kilpatrick checked in and provided a spark for the second night in a row.
Kilpatrick deposited a pair of layups shortly after entering the game, helping Milwaukee build a 9-0 run. He ultimately put up nine of his 11 points in the period, though the Bucks couldn't sustain their momentum and took a 54-53 lead into halftime.
Milwaukee looked like it had changed the complexion of the game with a strong stretch out of halftime. The Bucks took advantage of four Charlotte turnovers to embark on an 18-2 run over five minutes, which included eight points from Middleton.
The Hornets didn't make their first field goal of the second half until nearly midway through the third quarter, when Dwight Howard backed down John Henson for a bucket with 6:09 left in the period. That was the start of what would become a 21-6 response from Charlotte as the two teams settled right back into a tight battle that stayed that way throughout the fourth quarter.
