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The rookies gave it their all yet again, but the end result was a 115-95 whooping at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. There were a lot of negatives so I'm going to run through them quickly first, and then get onto the good stuff so I don't feel so depressed at the conclusion.

From the very beginning Andrew Bogut imposed his will, scoring 8 points in the first three minutes en route to 26 points and 13 rebounds in only 30 minutes. He might have been able to improve on the 24-20 he put up in the previous game had the Hornets been within a dozen points within the last 15 minutes.

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Tonight the Hornets (30-27) are on a segababa, in Milwaukee to face the Bucks. Game tips at 7 Central.

Much like the Hornets, the 27-28 Bucks are fighting for a playoff spot, and fighting real well lately with nine wins in their last twelve games. They're 17-9 overall in Milwaukee this season and are currently riding a three-game winning streak (@Det, Cha, @Nyk), allowing opponents an average of just 80 points in those three games.

Milwaukee is playing well despite the struggles of rookie Brandon Jennings, who is averaging 10.9ppg in February and has hit less than a third of his field goals since the new year. Andrew Bogut is leading the Bucks right now, averaging 17.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 4 blocks in his last five. They're also getting a boost from John Salmons, who is averaging 17.7 points in three games since being acquired from the Bulls in a trade last week.

The Hornets last played the Bucks back in November and came away with a 102-99 win in overtime, their ninth consecutive victory against Milwaukee. The Bucks were without Bogut in that game and needed Luke Ridnour's near-triple-double to keep it close. David West led the Hornets with 27, 10 and 5. Expect a tougher battle this time around.

As regards injuries, Chris Paul remains sidelined for the Hornets, while Milwaukee's Michael Redd is done for the season.

Numbers:

• Pace: Bucks 95.1 (15th), Hornets 94.8 (17th)
• Offensive Efficiency: Bucks 100.8 (25th), Hornets 104.5 (14th)
• Defensive Efficiency: Bucks 101.4 (9th), Hornets 105.2 (19th)

Linkage:

• Rival bloggers: Bucksketball (THN)
  

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today's banner featuring Larry Johnson. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

A complicated game tonight, with lots of shades of gray. Practically every Hornet had multiple highs and lows against the Bucks, but came good down the stretch to get the win in overtime, 102-99 ( box | recap ).

Notes...

Winning Ugly

After the game, Jeff Bower talked about how good teams can still win even when they shoot poorly and turn the ball over aplenty. The Hornets certainly did that tonight. They shot just 21.7 percent from the field in the first half, 36.6 percent for the game and turned the ball over 23 times. Balancing that out was a strong effort on the glass (61-49 Hornets advantage), and a solid night at the free throw line (28-of-31).

Darren Collison vs. Brandon Jennings

There wasn't much to the rookie point guard match-up in the first half, with Jennings in foul trouble and Collison struggling with three turnovers. But the battle got heated down the stretch. Jennings looked to be on a mission to close it out when he scored or assisted on 8 of the final 10 Bucks points in regulation. Collison was right there to match him though, hitting a late layup and nailing the three to force overtime.

In OT, it was Collison coming out on top. His customary full-court pressure resulted in some free throws after pouncing on a Jennings fumble in the backcourt, and then DC would cross up his counterpart in the final seconds to get down the lane and earn another trip to the line. Great experience for Collison to be out there making big plays on offense and holding his own against Jennings defensively. Final numbers:

Collison: 18 points, 5-12 FGs, 8 assists, 7 boards, 2 steals, 5 turnovers.
Jennings: 14 points, 4-15 FGs, 8 assists, 7 boards, 4 steals, 5 turnovers.

I was impressed with Jennings' game overall, even though he had a rough shooting night. I expected him to be more of a chucker, but he rarely forced a shot and didn't dominate the ball.

Forcing Overtime

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Brandon Jennings and the Bucks are in town to take on the Hornets this eve. It will be a battle of the fresh-faced point guards as Darren Collison does battle with the early favorite for Rookie of the Year. Game tips at 7 Central.

The Bucks have been one of the surprise teams this season, jumping out to a 8-4 start despite being without Michael Redd for all but three games. Redd returned from injury Monday but played just 11 minutes as the Bucks were blown out in San Antonio. Worth noting that Milwaukee has had a pretty easy schedule thus far; only one of their eight wins has come against a team with a winning record.

The Bucks will be without Andrew Bogut (leg confusion), while Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (foot stain) is day-to-day.

The Hornets are trying to bounce back from that bad ending in Miami on Sunday, and will take solace in the fact that they've won three straight at New Orleans Arena. Chris Paul and Ike Diogu are still out injured and not due to return any time soon.

Linkage:

• Earlier on the blog: Game Preview and more thoughts on Scott
• Lagniappe: Twitter stalking, praise for the rooks, and a chance to win CP's kicks
  
• Rival bloggers: Bucks Diary | Bucksketball
  

(Many thanks to Dariusz for the banner, today featuring Chris Paul. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

Rough start for both teams tonight in Milwaukee. Effort and hustle was there but nobody could buy a bucket. 14-14 after Q1. Our bench woes then put us in yet another hole and the starters had to work hard to get the lead back before halftime. Great interior D and excellent rebounding got it done. Pretty even in the third, much of our scoring coming at the free throw line after getting in the penalty. Always good. In the fourth, Milwaukee tried the same trick they pulled off a few weeks back, launching a bunch of triples to try steal it. No luck for them this time, and the Hornets went with more reliable shots to pull away and seal the deal. 95-86 the final.

Bullets:

• Rasual Butler did it again, starting off ice cold then warming up nicely and coming through with three long bombs in the fourth quarter. 17 points, 6-of-12 shooting, 4-of-8 from deep, and he added five boards just for the hell of it. I'm not sure he had such a positive performance defensively: he had a tough job chasing Charlie Bell around picks when he wasn't trying to keep Richard Jefferson out of the lane.
  
  
• I have no idea what Byron was thinking when he threw five reserves out there to start the second quarter. Did he not remember what happened when he tried the same thing in the fourth on Wednesday? Worse still, after the Bucks snapped off a quick 8-0 run, Byron called timeout only to resume play with the same five guys! Thankfully it was only another 90 seconds or so before Butler and West reentered the game, but that hole we dug ourselves resulted in Chris Paul having to play the entire second half, 41 minutes overall. Not good on the first night of a back-to-back.
  
  
• Another great performance from Tyson Chandler. Defensively, he was outstanding, especially in the first half. With him holding down the middle, the Bucks were hesitant to venture in the paint -- note their seven free-throw attempts in the game; they average 16.5 per -- preferring to settle for jumpers. (Of course, Milwaukee sorely lack an inside scoring threat, particularly when Charlie Villanueva is busy sucking like he was in this one.) Tyson also did a great job on the boards, grabbing 17 total, 7 offensive. He wasn't all that effective after he tweaked his ankle midway through the fourth. Hopefully that doesn't linger.

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