Hornets Fly In Fourth Quarter

March 27, 1998 / 12:05 AM EST / CBS/AP

Charlotte let Milwaukee hang around for three quarters but then Glen Rice took over.

Rice scored eight straight points as part of a 12-0 run by Charlotte to open the fourth quarter as the Hornets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 94-80 Thursday night.

"You can't let a team hang around as long as we were letting that team hang around," said Rice, who scored a game-high 27 points.

Charlotte trailed 66-65 when Rice hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 10:29 left, and then added another from the top of the key 21 seconds later to give the Hornets a 71-66 lead.

"I've always said that Vlade Divac is one of the best passing big men in the game," Rice said of the assist that led to his first three-pointer of the final quarter. "I had a wide open shot, and it's my job to make those wide-open shots."

Rice then scored on a fast-break dunk and Bobby Phills converted a layup as the Hornets took a 75-66 lead with 8:32 left. The Bucks could get no closer than four points down the rest of the way.

"We definitely said we had to come out and put them away," said David Wesley, who scored 21 points. "It's nice to know that we can turn it up when we need to."

The victory was the Charlotte's 15th in 16 games, allowing the Hornets to move 21 games above .500 for the first time in franchise history. The Bucks have dropped 13 of 15.

"When you have to play against a Glen Rice, you cannot give him any room, no daylight at all," Bucks center Ervin Johnson said. "He really hurt us there in the fourth quarter. They're the hottest team in the East, if you ask me."

Guards Ray Allen and Elliot Perry paced the Bucks with 18 points each, and Jerald Honeycutt contributed 15 off the bench.

Milwaukee led 66-63 after three quarters, thanks to eight points in the period from Perry, including two acrobatic jumpers in the final 16 seconds.

Charlotte had opened up a 46-36 lead late in second quarter with a 15-4 run capped by Matt Geiger's fast-break layup with 1:58 left in the half.

But Milwaukee scored the final six points of the period the last two on former Hornet Armon Gilliam's tip-in as time expired to narrow the Hornets' halftime advantage to 48-44.

Rice had 13 points at the break, and Geiger contributed 12 points and 11 of his team-high 15 rebounds. Honeycutt led the Bucks with 11 points.

Johnson had 11 rebounds for Milwaukee at the half and finished with a game-high 17.

"Our team is playing with a lot of heart and desire, but we're injury-riddled at this point, and we just seem to run out of gas at the end of ball games," he said.

Notes: The Hornets waived forward Tony Farmer, who averaged 2.5 points in 27 games this season. Farmer spent the last 11 games on the injued list with tendinitis in his left knee. ... Charlotte forward Donald Royal did not play Thursday because of influenza. He will also miss Friday's game at Indiana. ... Milwaukee stars Terrell Brandon (sprained left ankle) and Glenn Robinson (bone compression of the left tibial plateau) are on the injured list. ... Gilliam started for Milwaukee and scored 13 points.