Charlotte Hornets beat Milwaukee Bucks; LaMelo Ball has a career-high scoring night

Something so many Charlotte Hornets fans wanted — a LaMelo Ball start — happened in the second half, and the result was terrific in a 126-114 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Rookie point guard Ball, replacing the injured Terry Rozier, finished with a career-high 27 points, plus nine assists and five rebounds.

The Hornets built a 20-point first-half lead, lost it all, then hung on against Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player. Antetokoumpo finished with 34 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists.

The Hornets got 27 points from Gordon Hayward. Malik Monk scored a season-high 18 points off the bench, and Cody Zeller matched a career high with 15 rebounds.

The Hornets improved to 9-11, beating two of the top teams in the East — the Bucks and the Indiana Pacers — on back-to-back nights.

Rozier injury leads to Ball opportunity

Rozier sprained his right ankle at the end of the first half and missed the rest of the game. That gave Ball the second-half start, something many Hornets fans have been demanding for weeks.

Rozier laid on the court for some time at the end of the half before being walking off the court with assistance from teammate Miles Bridges. The Hornets declared him out for the rest of the game, but there’s no indication how long he might be out. Rozier has been a starter all season and is the Hornets’ second-leading scorer at 18.9 points per game.

Malik Monk maximizing minutes

Monk sat for much of the Hornets’ first 10 games. He slid into the rotation this week off the bench and had a big impact Saturday in building a 20-point halftime lead. Monk scored 11 points in 11 minutes, making three of his five 3-point attempts.

Just as importantly, he didn’t look like a defensive liability, sometimes playing in a three-guard lineup with Devonte Graham and Ball. Coach James Borrego has told Monk repeatedly that defensive consistency and focus is key to him being in the rotation.

Going small to counter Bucks

It was a safe bet Borrego would play a lot of small ball Saturday against the Bucks, based on his patterns in Borrego’s first two seasons with Charlotte.

Borrego frequently went small versus the Bucks, using now-retired forward Marvin Williams at center. Borrego said pregame that he’s gone small against Milwaukee, trying to get Bucks center Brook Lopez to play defensively more away from the rim. The trade-off in that is superstar Antetokounmpo moves to center, which creates entirely different matchup problems.

Biyombo’s minutes plunge

It was inevitable that veteran center Bismack Biyombo would play less with Zeller’s return from a broken finger. But the cutback has been dramatic: Nine minutes Wednesday vs. the Pacers, six minutes Friday vs. the Pacers, and then Biyombo didn’t play Saturday, as Borrego went with small-ball when Zeller didn’t play.

Back-to-backs

It’s no surprise the Hornets have had one of the most front-loaded schedules in the NBA; they previously played 10 games in 16 nights and are currently on a six games-in-nine nights stretch.

But they specifically lead the NBA in this schedule factor: The games Friday vs. the Indiana Pacers and Saturday vs. the Bucks were their six pair already of games on back-to-back nights. That’s the most in the NBA, according to a tweet by Elias Sports Bureau on Saturday.

The Hornets have a day between games all next week, then play another set of back-to-backs at home Sunday and Monday against the Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets.