Bucks Squeak By Hornets In OT

One of the first orders of business for George Karl is to shake the Milwaukee Bucks' reputation for being unable to win close games.

"We weren't pretty for 48 minutes, but we were pretty when it counted," the Bucks' new coach said after his team opened the season with a 113-107 overtime victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.

"This team had trouble in close games last year, and we need to change that," said Ray Allen, who scored Milwaukee's first seven points in overtime. "Right from the start of training camp, we came in and worked hard, paid attention to detail. That's why we lost games last year -- because we weren't focused in the fourth quarter. Tonight we paid attention to detail, and it paid off."

Allen, who led the NBA by averaging 27.5 points in the exhibition season, had 25 in the Bucks' regular-season debut.

Glenn Robinson added 25 for the Bucks, who finished 10 games under .500 last season but opened this year with good defense, forcing 23 turnovers and converting them into 28 points.

"Charlotte seemed tired mentally," Karl said. "They threw the ball right to us in a few crucial situations."

One night after being held to 34 percent shooting and 66 points, the Hornets bounced back by shooting 52 percent and getting double-figure scoring from six players, including all five starters.

But Charlotte couldn't overcome its turnover problems, which included four in the extra period that the Bucks converted into four points, including the go-ahead score.

"Overall, we're OK as a team," coach Dave Cowens said. "We've just got to learn to take better care of the ball."

Bobby Phills had 18 points and Derrick Coleman and B.J. Armstrong added 17 apiece for the Hornets, who had won three in a row against Milwaukee.

Coleman, the Hornets new cener, had 13 rebounds but also had seven of Charlotte's turnovers. Point guard David Wesley had four.

"A lot of turnovers came from anticipation," Coleman said. "Knowing where everybody is will come in time for us."

Wesley didn't sound nearly as upbeat.

"We didn't take care of the ball in crunch situations," Wesley said. "We turned it over at the worst moments."

There were 12 lead changes and seven ties in the fourth quarter, which ended with Robinson hitting a 20-footer at the buzzer to tie the game at 99-99.

The trend continued in overtime with two more ties and two lead changes before an errant Charlotte pass led to Allen's fast-break layup that put the Bucks ahead to stay, 106-104 with 1:54 remaining.

After a miss by armstrong, Milwaukee got a three-point play from Terrell Brandon to give the Bucks a five-point lead, their biggest to that stage of the game. Milwaukee pushed its lead as high as eight in overtime.

Dell Curry, who was the last of the original Hornets but was not re-signed by the team in the off-season, made his debut for Milwaukee and got a standing ovation when he entered the game early in the second period. He had nine points in the period and wound up with 17, as did teammate Armen Gilliam.

Notes

• Attendance at the Charlotte Coliseum went from 21,191 on opening night to 18,820 for the Milwaukee game. Saturday night's gathering included a number of people who took advantage of an offer to buy certain upper-level seats for $5.
• Charlotte, held to 26 second-half points Friday night, responded with 30 in the first quarter against Milwaukee, giving the Hornets a 10-point lead.
• Milwaukee frontcourt players Tyrone Hill, Ervin Johnson and Robert Traylor all picked up two first-period fouls, forcing Karl to field a lineup of players 6-foot-7 or shorter for much of the opening half.

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