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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
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SHOT CHART
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GAME FLOW
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Ray Allen, who starred with Denzel Washington
in Spike Lee's movie "He Got Game," was a hit on the small screen Sunday.
|  | | Derrick Coleman, left, couldn't get a handle on stopping Jason Caffey or the Bucks. |
Allen celebrated his first NBC appearance in a Milwaukee uniform
by scoring 26 points in the Bucks' 104-92 victory over the
Charlotte Hornets to open their Eastern Conference semifinal
series.
Nine of his points came in the fourth quarter, when the Bucks
saw their 22-point third-quarter lead whittled to four.
The Bucks hadn't been on NBC since Feb. 18, 1996, while Allen
was still at Connecticut.
"You know that people around the world are watching," Allen
said. "That's why we play basketball, to go out and play an
afternoon game and have the rest of the day to enjoy and go watch
the rest of the games."
The Central Division champion Bucks and coach George Karl were
miffed that NBC snubbed them in their first-round series with
Orlando. They were eager to display their high-flying style to a
bigger audience, much the way the Sacramento Kings did with their
exciting brand of basketball last year.
"We watched Sacramento turn it up for a while, and to be able
to do that now we'll have a lot of new fans across the country,"
Allen said. "And we'll have a lot of free agents that way to play
here as well."
Allen admitted he got the broadcast bug just before the game.
"I never care about being on TV because the game to me is the
same," he said. "But being on TV is respect. I think every guy
cares that we were on. Once we start playing more games on TV, it
will be commonplace and we'll just go out and play and not worry
about it."
Sam Cassell added 20 points and Glenn Robinson dished out a
career-high 11 assists as the Bucks won the opener of their first
best-of-seven series in 12 seasons.
Jamal Mashburn led Charlotte with 23 points, but his only basket
of the fourth quarter came with 28 seconds left and his team down
101-90.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at the Bradley Center, where the Bucks
have won 29 of their last 34 games.
The Hornets, who beat the Bucks by double digits three times
during the regular season, trailed by 15 at halftime and fell
behind by as many as 22 before pulling within five entering the
fourth quarter.
The Bucks, who held their own with the best rebounding team in
the league, appeared well on their way to a rout when Scott
Williams returned from a tumble out of bounds to block a shot by
Mashburn and score on a reverse layup that gave Milwaukee a 64-42
lead with 8:40 left in the third quarter.
Darvin Ham's dunk made it 68-46 before the jump-shooting Bucks
went ice cold and Mashburn scored 10 points in a 27-10 run that
pulled the Hornets to 78-73 after three quarters.
"We're expert at blowing leads," Karl said. "I told myself I
wasn't going to get worried about it until it got under five."
Which it did, three times, the last at 89-85 with 3½ minutes
left when David Wesley hit a fadeaway from the right baseline.
Allen responded with two free throws and Robinson blocked a shot
by Elden Campbell and dunked at the other end for a 93-85 lead.
Allen added breakaway baskets to make it 97-85.
"When you're down 20 points, you have to be perfect to make
that kind of a comeback," Wesley said. "You have to get all the
stops, you have to make all the shots, no turnovers, things like
that. And that's just not realistic.
"But we made a run, we didn't give up and that's good. Tuesday
we won't get down 20."
Mashburn was hounded by Ham, Robinson and Thomas in the first
half.
"Early on he was a little rusty," Hornets coach Paul Silas
said. "More of those (shots) will go down as the series
continues."
The Hornets, playing for the first time in nine days after
sweeping Miami, jumped out to a 10-2 lead before the Bucks took a
55-40 halftime lead.
Karl knew the drought was coming, though.
"When 80 to 85 percent of your shots are jump shots, you're not
going to shoot well all game long," he said. "You have to find a
way to survive those stretches."
Game notes
The Hornets were 14-of-19 from the foul line in the third
quarter. ... During pregame introductions, the Bucks announced C Mark Pope as their starter, but Ham actually got the nod, which
upset Silas. Karl apologized for the mixup, saying it was
unintentional but nevertheless unprofessional. ... The Bucks were
swept by Detroit in their last trip to the semifinals, in 1989. ...
Karl tied Rudy Tomjanovich with his 51st career playoff victory,
15th on the all-time list. ... Mashburn hit his first three foul
shots, making him 28-of-28 in the playoffs, before he missed two
free throws in the midst of Charlotte's third-quarter run.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Charlotte Clubhouse
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Hornets-Bucks Series Page
RECAPS
Milwaukee 104
Charlotte 92
LA Lakers 108
Sacramento 105
Toronto 96
Philadelphia 93
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Ray Allen dishes the ball to Glenn Robinson for the jam.
avi: 566 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
Ray Allen rates Milwaukee's overall team effort in Game 1 against Charlotte.
avi: 949 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
George Karl says Sam Cassell will be a pivotal part of the series.
avi: 784 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
Paul Silas discusses the Hornets' rebounding in Game 1.
avi: 1594 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
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