Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Kemba Walker flirted with a triple-double, scoring 25 points while dishing out 10 assists and grabbing nine rebounds to help Charlotte escape with a 111-110 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at Time Warner Cable Arena.
The UConn product scored seven of the 10 Charlotte points in the extra period. Al Jefferson tallied a season-high 26 points with nine rebounds for the Bobcats, who have won four of their last five contests.
"We came out in overtime and made enough plays to win," Bobcats head coach Steve Clifford said.
The Bobcats were up 109-108 when Walker missed a shot from the elbow to give the ball back to Milwaukee with 25.9 seconds left. The Bucks struggled to find an open shot out of the timeout before Khris Middleton missed a contested mid-range jumper.
Walker stepped to the line with 1.6 ticks left and sank both free throws to put Charlotte up 111-108.
Milwaukee thought that they tied the game after Middleton took a cross-court inbound pass in the corner and nailed the shot, but his foot was on the line and Charlotte escaped with a win.
"I didn't know where I was," said Middleton. "It was a good play and a good shot, but obviously my foot was on the line."
Brandon Knight registered a double-double with 26 points, 14 assists and eight boards, while Middleton scored 19 points for the Bucks, who have yet to win consecutive games this season.
The Bobcats used an 8-0 run late in the fourth quarter to take a 99-94 lead. Knight made a layup with 51.5 ticks left for the Bucks' first field goal since the 5:19 mark to pull Milwaukee within three.
Walker missed a technical free throw and Middleton drained a pair of free throws to make it a 99-98 game. Walker redeemed himself with a driving 13-foot jumper to put Charlotte up three.
After Middleton missed a three, the rebound bounced out to O.J.Mayo who stepped back and nailed a long-distance shot to tie the game at 101-101 with one second left.
Milwaukee led 33-17 after 12 minutes. Charlotte was down 52-39 with 4:23 left in the second stanza but a 13-2 run, capped off by a Josh McRoberts 3-pointer pulled the Bobcats within 54-52 at the break. The score was knotted up at 78-78 leading into the final frame.
Game Notes
The Bucks fell to 1-5 in overtime this season, while Charlotte moved to 2-0 in OT ... Charlotte forward Cody Zeller sets new career-highs in points (12) and assists (4) ... The Bucks have lost four straight and nine of their last ten in Charlotte ... Charlotte shot 58.8 percent (10-for-17) from beyond- the-arc.
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