Allen, Bucks Sting Hornets

George Karl's wallet is about to get lighter, and he couldn't be happier.

The Milwaukee coach told his players that if they won 12 games in March, he'd buy them all dinner. The Bucks met their target with a 102-94 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night.

"The guys are already talking about lobster and steak," a smiling Karl told reporters. "I'm sure the league will tell me I'm circumventing the salary cap. You can go with it. I don't care. But I guarantee you they'll say we're circumventing the cap."

Ray Allen had 20 points and former Charlotte guard Dell Curry had 18 to pace the Bucks, who opened a four-game road trip by shooting a season-high 61 percent.

Milwaukee, which came in shooting an NBA-best 40 percent from 3-point range, made seven of 14 attempts from long range. Curry made seven of 10 field-goal attempts, including two of his three long-range shots.

"It was very satisfying to beat the team that did not want you," said Curry, the last of the original Hornets. He was not re-signed in the offseason and joined the Bucks as a free agent.

It marked the second time in as many nights that the Hornets struggled defensively. Boston shot a season-high 59 percent Tuesday night en route to a 10-point victory.

Eddie Jones, Charlotte's best scorer and top defender, injured his left shoulder drawing a charging call from Michael Curry late in the third quarter.

Jones played the entire fourth quarter and scored six points, but was in obvious pain after the game while wearing an ice pack on his shoulder. At one point, he doubled over in his chair while talking to reporters.

"They called an offensive foul, but it didn't help the pain," said Jones, who refused X-rays. "I hope it'll be OK."

Reserve guard Eldridge Recasner had a career-high 26 points for the Hornets, who got just 48 points from their starters. Recasner made nine of 14 field-goal attempts, including five of seven 3-pointers, on the way to scoring three more than his previous NBA best.

The Bucks got off to fast starts in each of the first three quartes. Milwaukee opened the game with a 12-3 run and began the second quarter with an 11-2 surge. Tim Thomas hit 3-pointers for Milwaukee's first two baskets of the third quarter, pushing the Bucks' lead to 15.

Milwaukee took a 16-point lead into the fourth, when the closest the Hornets got was 92-86 on a layup by Jones with 4:14 remaining. But Milwaukee scored six of the next seven points and held Charlotte without another field goal for nearly three minutes.

The Bucks built an eight-point lead after a first half in which they shot 64 percent and outscored the Hornets 32-20 in the paint. Charlotte would have trailed by more had it not been for Recasner, who played just 10 minutes but hit five of six field-goal attempts, giving him a season-high 16 points.

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