at, just five-feet of safety away, at ringside and that is because

MILWAUKEE -- The Charlotte Hornets turned up the pressure on the Milwaukee Bucks from the outset of their season opener.Nicholas Batum disrupted the Bucks on the perimeter. Center Roy Hibbert had his teammates backs in the paint.The defense helped Charlotte build a big early lead, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 23 points and 14 rebounds in his return from a shoulder injury in the 107-96 victory over Milwaukee on Wednesday night.Early, they didnt get things easy, Hornets coach Steve Clifford said.They led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter before fending off a late charge from Milwaukee.The Bucks, who looked lackluster for much of the game, drew energy from Greg Monroes hustle in the paint and Jason Terrys floater that cut the lead to 93-85 with 5:08 left.But the Hornets held on down the stretch, getting a straightaway 3 from Marvin Williams for a 12-point lead with 3:21 left.They definitely outplayed us. We just cant let that happen (any) more, Bucks forward Jabari Parker said.Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 31 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The 6-foot-11 forward, now serving as Milwaukees primary ball-handler, showed he was worth the four-year $100 million contract extension he signed before training camp.Im not happy, we all wanted to start this season with a win ... so thats all I can think about, Antetokounmpo said.The Hornets pressed early, and tried to force the Bucks to find other ways to start the offense. The Hornets also had an effective wing defender in the 6-foot-8 Batum.Nic set the tone with his ball pressure, trying to disrupt the offense, which not many guys his size could do, Clifford said.Williams finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte, a playoff team a year ago following a 48-win season.TIP INSHornets: C Cody Zeller, who did not play the entire preseason because of a right knee injury, was 5 of 6 from the field for 15 points in 14 minutes. ... C-F Frank Kaminsky missed the game with a strained right foot. Kaminsky was a star in college at Wisconsin, where he helped lead the Badgers to two Final Four appearances.Bucks: Malcolm Brogdon played well in his NBA debut, serving as the point guard when Antetokounmpo and Matthew Dellavedova were off the court. Brogdon, a second-round draft pick, finished with eight points and five assists in 21 minutes.MOVIN ITThe Bucks couldnt keep up with Charlottes crisp ball movement in the first half, when the Hornets had 17 assists on 22 field goals to build a 15-point lead.Kemba Walker finished with eight assists, six coming in the first half.We just stuck to our game plan. We made all the right plays. We didnt turn the ball over too much, Walker said. We got a lot of stops, pushed the tempo, we made shots.MOVING ONCharlotte lost Jeremy Lin, Courtney Lee and Al Jefferson to free agency in the offseason, bringing in Marco Belinelli, Ramon Sessions and Hibbert.The new Hornets are fitting in quite nicely. Kidd-Gilchrist is back after playing just seven games last season.The 7-foot-2 Hibbert had a couple of rim-rocking dunks in the third quarter that helped build the 20-point lead.With Hibbert anchoring the middle defensively, Clifford likes the length and versatility provided by Batum and the 6-7 Kidd-Gilchrist.LONG SHOTSThe Bucks were haunted by familiar problems that carried over from last years 33-win squad.Milwaukee was just 1 of 9 from behind the 3-point arc in the first half. Interior defense was also an issue and the Hornets took advantage of the scrambling Bucks by moving the ball quickly around the court.Milwaukee finished 3 of 16 from behind the arc. Charlotte was 7 of 23 from 3-point range, but their baskets came in clutch situations.The timely 3s hurt. For us they shot 30 percent from the 3-point line. Well take that, but when youre behind, your margin of error, its very slim, coach Jason Kidd said.UP NEXTHornets: At Miami on Friday.Bucks: Host Nets on Saturday.---Follow Genaro Armas at: https://twitter.com/GArmasAP Grant Fuhr Jersey . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Jujhar Khaira Jersey . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. http://www.officialoilersfanstore.com/authentic-adam-larsson-oilers-jersey/ . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. Bill Ranford Jersey . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. Jari Kurri Oilers Jersey . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. It was not easy to watch the last minute or so of Kell Brooks bold attempt to beat Gennady Golovkin in the final episode of the hot summer of boxing at the O2 on Saturday night.The fight was stopped in the fifth round when Dominic Ingle, the man that has trained Brook for nearly 20 years, tossed a towel in the ring at the feet of referee Marlon Wright. It was not surrender, it was mercy, and Brooks complaints were swallowed as he was embraced.Golovkin had chopped away at Brooks resistance from the opening bell, starting the fight a lot faster and with far more intent than most people expected. Brook had sustained an injury to his right eye by the end of the furious opening round, and it was that eye which limited his vision and left him vulnerable and ultimately forced Ingle to call it off.At the end of the fourth round, Ingle placed a blood-smeared towel over Brooks head and then ducked his own head inside the desperate tepee, a move designed to avoid the corner microphones, to warn his fighter it was his last round. Brook was helpless on the ropes, but still wanting to fight when it was called off and his career was saved. Many boxers have taken less punishment and failed to ever reach their previous heights, and Golovkin is a man that ruins careers. Ingles gesture might just have salvaged Brooks hopes of getting back to this level.There was a sea of praise in the aftermath with Golovkin and his trainer, Abel Sanchez, insisting that Brook had been a great opponent. Brook returned the compliment before a trip to hospital and a scan that revealed a broken right eye socket. He will have surgery on Monday and will not fight again this year.We knew it was going to be hard and it was, Brook said. To beat somebody that good you need two eyes and I was in trouble from the second. I couldnt see, and I knew then it was bad.In round two, Brook caught Golovkin repeatedly with quick combinations and one particular right uppercut landed flush. The action delighted the crowd, but made no sense and now that we know Brooks vision from the right eye was fading the grandstanding effort makes a little more sense. It was, in reality, his last stand, a move made painfully necessary by his impaired vision and not part of some carefully maintained strategy.Golovkin was accused of being sloppy by some purists, which seems harsh on Brook, and faiils to capture the effort Golovkin had to put in.dddddddddddd It is true that he was never hurt, never wobbled and never in trouble, but he had to fight in every round and in the second, for all the wrong reasons, he had to dig deeper than at any point in his professional career. Brook, meanwhile, displayed the guts that some fools believed he lacked.There is no doubt that Brooks speed, heart and resistance shocked the Kazakh maestro, who talked after the fight of having to have a war and not a boxing match to win. Brook, by the way, took the type of punches that few of Golovkins previous 35 victims have managed to absorb. However, his bravery failed to keep him from the list and he was added to the 23 consecutive stoppage wins, including the 18th in a world title fight by Golovkin.Im still struggling to take it all in, said Eddie Hearn, the promoter, at the end of the fight as he stood in the empty ringside pit surrounded by the junk left behind after a big night of boxing. I truly believed he could do it, but with the eye, there was no way that it could have gone longer. Kell took everything, my respect for him has increased. Hearn was visibly shaken by what he had seen from his seat, just five-feet of safety away, at ringside and that is because up close you can hear Golovkins punches and it is both impressive and frightening.As the respective camps left the ring, walking from the ringside to the mixed receptions in their dressing rooms there were other stunned faces left behind, veterans of previous nights when great boxers have shown up in British rings and delivered sobering beatings to our best fighters.?Golovkin left the most emphatic of messages and will deservedly never be forgotten by those present.In the subdued aftermath I grabbed a few moments with Sanchez, the quiet man that has shaped Golovkin into such a damaging fighter, and he looked relieved that the fight and the week had come to an end.You know, he said, Kell never knew how to lose and that made him a danger. Gennady is methodical and he was starting to hurt him. Im glad Dominic stopped it. It saved him.It was a raw night, the type of boxing night that is both a celebration of the brutal sport and a warning of its dangers. ' ' '