CHARLOTTE – For the second straight game, Giannis Antetokounmpo was called for a questionable foul on some strong individual defense in the closing seconds – but this time the Milwaukee Bucks lost as LaMelo Ball hit two free throws with 7.3 seconds left to give his Charlotte Hornets a 115-114 victory Saturday afternoon at the Spectrum Center.

Antetokounmpo switched onto Ball above the three-point line as the point guard tried to find a way to make a potential go-ahead basket and appeared to slip down on his own. Ball lost control of his dribble as Antetokounmpo fell as well, and then the whistle came in.

“I like my money -- but, I do think it was a bad call," Bucks forward Taurean Prince said. "We all are human, so that is constructive criticism. But, I think in a situation like that you gotta let the players dictate the game. I saw the video. In my opinion it wasn’t a foul, so I wish we could get that back but we can’t, so just gotta have amnesia and keep moving forward.”

MORE: Box score | Bucks schedule | NBA standings

It was eerily reminiscent of Antetokounmpo’s denial of a last-second Detroit inbound pass that was called a foul with a second left Wednesday night. In that game, Pistons guard Ron Holland II missed both free throws and the Bucks won in overtime – and the NBA officially declared that the refs made the wrong call.

For Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, it was far too similar.

More: NBA admits wrong call on Giannis Antetokounmpo at end of Bucks' loss to Hornets

"I thought the final play was the ref blowing a call," Rivers said. "This is back-to-back games now where on the final play there's been an incorrect call made. LaMelo Ball fell. He just fell down. Nobody was near him. Slipped on his own. We come up with the ball, the game's over. So back-to-back games now we've had a call made against us that was incorrect."

Unlike Holland II, Ball knocked down his two free throws to give the Hornets a 115-114 lead. They proved to be the game winning points.

After the game crew chief Curtis Blair admitted the officials made the wrong call.

"During live play we called illegal leg to leg contact," Blair said. "During postgame review when we looked at the play there was no illegal contact on the play."

Antetokounmpo met with the media after Blair's comments, but the two-time league MVP had none of his own.

“I’ve been in the league for, this is my 12^th year, rule No. 1 – don’t give away your money," he said. "And rule No. 2, don’t forget rule No. 1. So I’m not going to comment on that. Thank you."

At the time of Rivers' and some player's postgame comments, the team had seen replays of the play but had not yet heard the confirmation from the league that there was an error.

"Look, it's the nature of sport," Bucks wing Pat Connaughton said. "It's the human element of sport. I think Doc is correct in his reaction to it. I think Giannis is correct in his reaction to it. I also think Doc's done a great job impressing on us that the last play is what we're gonna see, but what could we have done better throughout the game."

Connaughton then pointed to the 21 second-chance points the Hornets scored, thanks in large part to 10 offensive rebounds by Hornets reserve Moussa Diabaté. Bobby Portis Jr. agreed with his head coach's message as well.

"I mean, obviously it is (frustrating) but I think we can do a better job of not putting ourselves in that position, right?" Portis said. "We let the one kid get 10 offensive rebounds and second-chance points, kick-out threes -- I think they made 3, 4 threes off those offensive rebounds -- so just the little things we take out and then we wouldn't be in those situations. I think it's more on us to clean up just the little things, the game within the game."

Giannis misses game-winning jumper

Even after the call on Antetokounmpo, the Bucks still had a chance to win the game after a timeout. Their first attempt featured Antetokounmpo trying to inbound to Connaughton, but the Bucks forward was fouled. They swapped roles on the next inbound, with Connaughton finding the two-time MVP posted up against Grant Williams.

Antetokounmpo squared up, but Williams and the Hornets sagged back. Antetokounmpo tried to find a driving angle, but eventually stepped back for a rhythm 18-foot jumper with 2.2 seconds left, but it rimmed out and the Bucks couldn’t get a tip-in to win.

"I'll take the shot a thousand times," he said confidently. "I'll take the shot a thousand times. I work on that shot. It did not go my way. But, I just love being in that position, because the more you're in that position the more comfortable you get and the more often you can hit it. I got to my spot. It wasn't short -- I didn't want it to be short -- it was a good miss, so I just gotta live with it."

Charlotte improved to 5-7 and Milwaukee fell to 4-9.

Prince scored 23 points on 9 of 14 shooting to lead the Bucks in scoring while Bobby Portis Jr. added 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Andre Jackson Jr. (14 points), Gary Trent Jr. (10) and Pat Connaughton (10) all reached double figures.

Ball led the Hornets with 26 points on 7 of 20 shooting. Miles Bridges (19), Josh Green (15), Brandon Miller (13), Diabaté (12) and Tre Mann (11) all reached double figures for the Hornets.

Hornets build wall; Giannis passes around it for triple-double

With three former Milwaukee assistant coaches on the Charlotte bench – and the Hornets’ “big” man being 6-foot, 6-inch Grant Williams – it should have come as no surprise they would try to build a wall to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo from getting to the basket and clogging passing lanes.

"I couldn't get downhill," Antetokounmpo admitted. "I want to -- that's my strength. But today I could not get downhill. I tried. But everybody was way, like way back. I was getting to the elbow and they kept getting back."

Of course, it was nothing Antetokounmpo hasn’t seen before – and he was more than halfway to a triple-double in the first quarter when he scored six points, pulled down six rebounds and handed out six assists – five of which resulted in a three-pointer by a different teammate.

The Hornets weren’t shy in showing Antetokounmpo triple teams with their wall construction, so he started zipping passes to willing shooters around the perimeter.

"They switch one through four so a lot of things we particularly like to run probably wouldn't work the best in those situations so we'd just throw it in the post and let that be our offense and let's see where they double from and make plays off that -- if you're wide open, shoot the ball," Taurean Prince said. "Keep it simple. If not, if you feel guys close to you, drive and make the next play."

Six of his nine first half assists resulted in a three for the Bucks, and he helped create 36 of the team’s 63 points.

And despite Antetokounmpo coming into the game making 50% (27 of 54) of his midrange shots from 10 to 19 feet, the Hornets sagged off him to leave him wide open to shoot them if he so desired. He didn’t always take the bait, but when he did it was largely in rhythm, and he knocked down 5 of his 11 midrange jumpers -- though he missed his final three, including the potential game-winner.

"At the end of the day you gotta shoot that shot," Antetokounmpo said. "For me, I'm shooting at a high rate -- 45, 50% from two -- so, it's something that I feel very, very confident and comfortable it. Even if I didn't shoot it 50%, I don't care about the statistic, I just care about the confidence and the rhythm and I'm willing to take that shot. I'm willing to live with that shot, miss or make. But again, good shot, it could've went in and we could have won the game, but I'm just happy I took that shot and I will take it a thousand times more."

He also stayed committed to breaking down the wall by passing around it, recording his first triple-double of the season with 12 assists to go with 15 rebounds and 22 points. It was his 46^th career triple-double, and he is seventh among active players in that category.

Andre Jackson Jr. steps up for Bucks

Second-year guard Andre Jackson Jr. has continued to thrive in his role in taking on the opponent’s best offensive player – and is contributing more often on offense to keep the floor spaced for his teammates.

He manned up on Charlotte point guard LaMelo Ball, who came into the game as one of the league’s leading scorers at 29.9 points per game – and the most prolific three-point shooter in the league at over 13 attempts per game.

In the first half, Jackson held Ball to just five field goal attempts (one make) and only let him get loose for three shots from distance.

Despite Jackson having to navigate the fourth quarter with four fouls, he came up with two massive, technically sound vertical challenges at the rim on strong drives by Miles Bridges and Ball that resulted in missed shots and kept the Bucks within striking distance in the final minutes.

On offense, Jackson began by knocking down an early three-pointer off a feed from Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo then found Jackson under the basket but the guard turned it over when he tried to pass out of the spot – a lesson he learned quickly as he drew a foul on Ball and hit two free throws on a similar play later.

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers pulled Jackson in the second half during the Bucks’ loss to Boston on Nov. 10 despite his good defense on MVP candidate Jayson Tatum because the Celtics were ignoring him on offense. But, Rivers acknowledged his staff had to get Jackson in more advantageous spots and in the three games since then he’s attempted 12 shots – compared to an average of 2.8 per game in his previous nine appearances.

In the fourth quarter Jackson came up huge as he knocked down consecutive catch-and-shoot three-pointers – after airballing an attempt just before – giving the Bucks a 105-101 lead with 5:48 to go in the game without Antetokounmpo on the floor.

Jackson finished with career-high 14 points against Charlotte thanks to a 4-for-5 mark from behind the three-point line.

"The corner threes are what they want," Rivers said after the game. "He took one early one at the break which we didn't want, but his corner threes are terrific. He also had a couple great plays where he drove the ball and he made plays. That's more of what we mean and he's doing a great job."

Hornets head coach Charles Lee faces Bucks for first time

Charlotte hired Charles Lee to take over the team this season, giving the 40-year-old his first head coaching opportunity after 10 seasons as an assistant – including five with the Bucks from 2018-23.

Lee was part of the championship winning team in 2021 under head coach Mike Budenholzer, and then moved on to Boston where he reunited with Jrue Holiday and won another championship as an assistant with the Celtics last season.

“I would say the game doesn’t feel as different, but the moments before the game and after the game when you get to revisit with people that you built some great bonds with and you’ll continue to have this relationship that’s bigger than basketball – but I think once the ball is tipped up, these are my guys,” Lee said before the game Saturday. “When I was in Boston and we played Milwaukee, it was about Boston guys and how are we going to win this game today? Now, I’m a Hornet, and it’s just about the Hornets players and how are we going to prepare for this game and make sure that we go out to do everything that we can to get better today and put ourselves in the best position to win.”

Lee brought some more familiar faces with him to Charlotte in former Bucks assistants Josh Longstaff (2018-20) and Blaine Mueller (2018-23).

Though the Bucks’ coaching staff has turned over quite a bit in the last two seasons, current assistant Darvin Ham had been with Lee, Longstaff and Mueller in Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis Jr. played for those coaches as well.

“I would just say, you probably know a little bit more about the team so the scouting gets a little bit longer than any other game,” Lee said with a laugh. “The assistant coach says something and you’re like well, also this, this and this. That’s probably the only difference from a schematic standpoint.”

5 numbers

• 1: Free throws attempted by Giannis Antetokounmpo. He came into the game averaging 10.7 attempts per game.Rivers: "It is his size. I felt for all coaches who had to coach Shaq because Shaq would drive and it's like little BBs flying off of him, but they're still fouls. But they just don't give 'em."

• 4: Game homestand the Bucks will begin on Monday against Houston, a season-long stretch.

• 6: Different starting lineups in 13 games for Milwaukee after Andre Jackson Jr. joined Delon Wright, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince and Brook Lopez for the opening tip.

• 7: Three-point attempts by Charlotte guard LaMelo Ball. He came into the game averaging a league-high 13.1 attempts from deep, making 37.5% of them to help him average a career-best 29.9 points per game.

• 1/10/2022: Last time the Hornets beat the Bucks at home, 103-99. Milwaukee actually lost two games in a three-day span at the Spectrum Center, dropping a game 114-106 on Jan. 8 also.

Is Giannis playing?

Yes. Giannis Antetokounmpo began the day as probable to play as he continues to manage pain in his right knee. He's coming off a 59-point performance Wednesday night against Detroit.

Damian Lillard injury update

Lillard reported concussion-like symptoms and entered the NBA’s concussion protocol Monday night after being struck in the head during the game against Boston on Sunday. He didn't make the trip to Charlotte.

"I don't think it's a concern level -- he's going to pass the test at some point," Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said before the Hornets game. "We were hopeful, though. We thought it was going to be a one-game thing and just hasn't been. They have these parameters in place to protect the players from themselves, really, and it makes a lot of sense."

Lillard was inadvertently hit in the face by a referee waving off a late shot after time expired in the third quarter of the Bucks' loss to the Celtics. He did play nearly seven minutes in the fourth, going 0-for-2 from the floor. He reported headaches Monday.

Lillard was publicly entered into the NBA concussion protocol via the Bucks at 8:16 p.m. Monday and was immediately ruled out for Tuesday's game, but he was on the bench for that game. There was some belief that he could be available vs. the Pistons, but he was ruled out Wednesday afternoon and didn't attend that game.

More: Lori Nickel: As the Bucks move the ball more, an emphasis on the Khris Middleton-inspired pass is in order

What is the NBA concussion protocol?

Per the NBA concussion policy, if a player is diagnosed with a concussion, he must be monitored for 24 hours and may begin physical activity after that period. He "cannot return to full participation without restrictions: (i) for at least 48 hours after the time of injury; and (ii) until after he completes the required return-to-participation process."

Read the 2024-25 NBA concussion protocol

What channel are the Bucks on?

The game tips off at 2 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Network with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.

Milwaukee Bucks injury report

• Khris Middleton, out (surgery on both ankles)Rivers: "The concern is Khris -- that hasn't changed -- we want to make sure Khris is healthy. He's doing everything he's supposed to do to make it. He just hasn't made it on the floor yet. I don't get; obviously I wish everybody could play. We would love that for our team, that it'd be whole. I don't get that frustrated over that stuff because there's nothing I can do about it."

• Damian Lillard, out (concussion protocol)

• Ryan Rollins, out (left shoulder instability)

• Bobby Portis Jr., available (right elbow contusion)Note: Portis went through warmups and it was determined he could play vs. the Hornets.

• AJ Green, available (left shoulder impingement)

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, available (right patella tendinopathy)

Bucks starters

• Guards: Delon Wright, Andre Jackson Jr.

• Forwards: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince

• Center: Brook Lopez

Bucks vs. Hornets odds, over/under

The Bucks are 3.5-point favorites over the Hornets and the over/under for the game is 216.5 points, per BetMGM.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis has triple-double but Bucks fall to Hornets 115-114 in final seconds