Charlotte, North Carolina (AP) – With 27 points from Damian Lillard and 20 points from Malik Beasley, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Charlotte Hornets 130–99 on Friday night, despite LaMelo Ball scoring 37 points. The Bucks are now 3-0 in the NBA In-Season Tournament.

After missing the last game because of a calf injury, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 16 points, passed the ball nine times, and grabbed eight boards to help the Bucks win their third straight game. In the fourth quarter, the Bucks beat the Hornets 38–18 and made 22 of 45 three-point shots. Beasley made six and Lillard made five.

After beating the Heat, Milwaukee will play the Heat again on November 28 in Miami. The Heat are the only other team in East Group B that hasn’t lost yet, and this game could decide who goes to the single-elimination knockout stage.

They both have two wins so far in the event.

Miles Bridges of Charlotte looked strong in his first NBA game in 583 days. He scored 17 points in 33 minutes by making 6 of 13 shots. Bridges missed all of last season and the first 10 games of this year because he was involved in a domestic violence case in 2022.

When Bridges came into the game in the first quarter, he got a standing ovation. When he made his first pullup jumper, which helped the Hornets take a 13-point lead in the first half, he got an even louder cheer.

Even so, the Bucks had a two-point lead going into halftime. In the third quarter, a driving one-handed dunk by Lillard and a corner three from Beasley off a pass from Antetokounmpo helped them pull away. After a few minutes, Lillard made a three-pointer and Pat Connaughton made one from the corner, giving the Blazers a 14-point lead.

Early in the fourth, Bridges’ and-one cut the Hornets’ lead to six points. But the Bucks went on a rampage and slowly built a 33-point lead with a string of threes.

It was only one point away for Ball from matching his personal high.

A tattoo of the letters “LF” was hidden by a blue patch on his left ear.

The tattoo breaks NBA rules that say players can’t have business logos on their bodies. LaFrance is the point guard’s given name and the name of his new clothing line. That’s what “LF” stands for.