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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/GArmasAPDavid Krejci Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. David Backes Bruins Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.thebostonbruinshockey.com/phil-esposito-hockey-jersey/ . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Gerry Cheevers Bruins Jersey . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Jake DeBrusk Bruins Jersey . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2).RIO DE JANEIRO -- Osea Kolinisau didnt want merely to win Fijis first ever Olympic gold medal, he was determined to do it by showing the world how rugby sevens should be played.Done, and done.With his prime minister among the Fijians in the crowd, and knowing 900,000 more back in the Pacific expected nothing less than a gold medal, he kicked off a five-try, first-half barrage against Britain in the gold-medal match by reaching his arms back over his head as he was being tackled to score an early try in the corner.The long-time entertainers of rugby sevens peaked in perfect time, running in for seven tries in a 43-7 win that showcased their fitness, finesse, physicality and the famous one-handed passing.Its a massive achievement to get a first medal for your country, especially a gold medal, said Kolinisau, the most-experienced Fijian ever on the international sevens circuit. The achievement will be part of our history back home.After ensuring the victory that had been in the making since the International Olympic Committee in 2009 added Fijis national sport to the program for Rio de Janeiro, Kolinisau and his teammates huddled solemnly in the middle of the field and sang a hymn.The deeply religious Fiji captain told his teammates before the match that it all was all pre-ordained, that theyd been gifted the countrys best chance ever to end a six-decade medal drought at the Olympics.Its really emotional -- to lead ones country, especially to be the flag bearer, Kolinisau said. Coming into the final, I knew it was up for grabs. I told the boys, `We need to have fire in our heart, but have ice in our mind -- be cool-headed.They were smiling by halftime, leading 29-0, and the dominance wasnt just with ball in hand -- they didnt let the British players cross the halfway line while in possession.When these guys are on fire, its very difficult to combat, Britain captain Tom Mitchell said. Theyre very worthy champions.Leone Nakarawa created all kinds of trouble for the British players with his sheer size and brute strength. He played a part in the leadup to a try for Jerry Tuwai, and went within a meteer of scoring himself before he was dragged down in a desperate cover tackle.ddddddddddddJasa Veremalua scored to make it 17-0 and the Fijians scored again directly from the kickoff when Semi Kunatani gathered the re-start and passed to Nakarawa, who sprinted away to score.The Fijians scored twice more in the second half -- the only blemish being Dan Nortons try. It seemed as if they could break the defensive line at will, and the British players were almost powerless to stop them.Ben Ryan, the Englishman who took over as Fiji coach in 2013 and applied strict discipline to mold a naturally-talented team into a consistent, professional unit, said it was almost perfect.We did say we wanted to show people the way to play the Fijian way, he said. And we were great that we delivered that in fairly spectacular fashion.Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama thanked the IOC for including rugby sevens at the Rio Games.We hope the brand of rugby we played today has justified the inclusion, he said. The gold props up little tiny nations like us. We dont have the money and the bucks and support that England has -- but we managed to beat them.Bainimarama declared a public holiday -- probably unnecessarily as nobody could work anyway.Everything stops back home, he said. Our productivity has been nil for the last couple of days, but hopefully the GDP will go up in the next couple of days.No. 2-ranked South Africa won the bronze medal with a 54-14 win over Japan, which produced some of the highlights of rugbys return to the Olympics with an early upset win over New Zealand.Britain coach Simon Amor was grateful to reach the final, having held off South Africa 7-5 in the semifinals and had a close call with a golden-point extra-time win over Argentina in the quarterfinals.There were a couple of single-digit winning margins, but nobody really got close to the Fijians.Wonderful that Fiji got the gold medal. Such a special team, Amor said. First time being in the Olympics, its probably right. ' ' '