MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo dunked on a lob from Kevin Porter Jr. with 4.7 seconds remaining to give the Milwaukee Bucks a 122-121 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.
Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for his NBA-leading 158th game with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Antetokounmpo overtook Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who each accomplished that feat 157 times.
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Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun (31) passes around Milwaukee Bucks center Myles Turner (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) shoots past Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) shoots past Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun (31) drives past Milwaukee Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. (44) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) drives between Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. (7) and guard Gary Trent Jr. (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
The lead changed hands three times in the last 10 1/2 seconds.
Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma sank a 3-pointer to put the Bucks ahead 120-118 with 10.3 seconds left.
After Charlotte called a timeout, Sion James inbounded the ball to Miles Bridges, who was heading toward the basket. Bridges laid the ball in while drawing Kuzma’s sixth foul with 8.8 seconds left. Bridges then hit the ensuing free throw to complete a 3-point play that put Charlotte back ahead.
Milwaukee called a timeout, then Porter threw an inbounds pass to Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo passed to Porter and then headed toward the basket and caught the lob to dunk home the winning basket.
Charlotte still had one more timeout. LaMelo Ball inbounded to Brandon Miller, whose contested driving layup attempt bounced off the backboard and didn’t go through as the buzzer sounded.
Kon Knueppel scored 26 points, Bridges 25, Miller 19 and Collin Sexton 16 for Charlotte. Ryan Rollins had 29 points and eight assists for Milwaukee, while Bobby Portis scored 20 points.
Milwaukee’s dramatic victory came two nights after the Bucks lost 114-113 to the Washington Wizards on a last-second jumper from CJ McCollum.
The Bucks and Hornets were facing off for the second time in five days, as the Bucks won 123-113 at Charlotte on Monday.
Milwaukee was playing its final home game before starting a four-game trip west.
Hornets: At Chicago on Saturday.
Bucks: At Sacramento on Sunday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun (31) passes around Milwaukee Bucks center Myles Turner (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) shoots past Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) shoots past Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun (31) drives past Milwaukee Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. (44) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) drives between Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. (7) and guard Gary Trent Jr. (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
MIAMI (AP) — The Florida Panthers arrived in Ferraris, cigars lit, dressed in all-white “Miami Vice” attire — and, in true South Florida fashion, fashionably late.
The New York Rangers followed suit, stepping into loanDepot Park in their own whites and sunglasses.
With that, the 2026 Winter Classic was underway in warm, humid Miami.
At loanDepot Park, home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins, a sold-out crowd of 36,153— with celebrity attendees that included former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady — had already begun filling the streets hours before the Rangers beat the defending champion Panthers 5-1 on Friday night in the first outdoor game to take place in Florida.
The retractable roof on the ballpark — which had been shut while air conditioning was piped in to help ice builders create a playing surface suitable for hockey — opened just before puck drop, revealing a clear dark sky with the Miami skyline hovering behind the ballpark. Artificial snow cascaded into the stands, accompanied by pyrotechnics and a performance by Puerto Rican artist Luis Fonsi.
“They said it couldn't be done,” the public address announcer shouted in front of a roaring crowd. “They said it shouldn't be done. But tonight, history and modern science meet here in the Sunshine State.”
After a ceremonial puck drop by Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo, the game was on.
“I would have never thought that I would play in a Winter Classic in Miami and be a part of this cool experience," said Florida center Anton Lundell, wearing a baby pink shirt and pastel blue handkerchief to accent his all-white suit. “Obviously we still have the game left, but everything building up to this game has been awesome. It's been very unique and an experience we're all going to remember for the rest of our lives.”
Though nowhere near as chilly as Winter Classics of years past, the temperature at puck drop was 63 degrees Fahrenheit, the second-warmest outdoor NHL game ever.
For the Rangers, forward Will Cuylie said the plan was for a day-at-the-beach look, but bathing suits were a non-starter. Not professional enough, he added.
“We thought the all-white was a good solution for that,” he said.
Florida coach Paul Maurice arrived in what he jokingly deemed an “appropriate” mode of transportation.
“I was happily on the bus,” Maurice said ahead of Friday's game.
But on his ride into the stadium, Maurice took in his surroundings: the palm tree monikers lining the outside of the ballpark and the thousands of fans clad in Rangers and Panthers gear. In past decades, it would have been hard to imagine such a scene in South Florida, where the success of the back-to-back defending champion Panthers has helped exponentially grow the popularity of hockey.
“I took about 10 minutes just to think about that idea,” Maurice said. "How much different the game was 30 years ago, 20 years ago that you’re in Miami, you've got your whole team getting in the Ferraris. I didn't really think there would be that many fans outside. It was like a version of our parade.
“It is an awesome spectacle. The game itself — not just in Florida — but the pure hockey game, for me, is better than it’s ever been.”
For Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito, the game — one that’s filled with “wonderment,” he said — represented a full-circle moment. His career path started in baseball, and on Friday, his team was playing on a baseball field.
Zito was a batboy for the Milwaukee Brewers in the early 1980s and still credits general manager Harry Dalton for what became the start of a career that saw him become an agent and then one of the top executives in the game.
“The lessons I learned from that experience impact me, and really then via me, our organization on a daily basis,” Zito said. “I’m not here today if I hadn’t had that good fortune.”
That said, his baseball ways were long ago. When he first arrived at loanDepot Park to see the setup, he asked where the locker rooms were. Baseball doesn’t use that term.
“I forgot,” Zito said. “It’s a clubhouse.”
AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds contributed.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Fans watch before the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Florida Panthers's Matthew Tkachuk, left, and Aleksander Barkov hold up the Stanley Cup at the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Players arrive before the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
New York Rangers, including left wing Brett Berard, center, warm up with a soccer ball ahead of the start of the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game at loanDepot Park, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Fans watch as Florida Panthers players arrive before the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk arrives for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers at loanDepot Park, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Fans watch as Florida Panthers players arrive before the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling arrives for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
New York Rangers Taylor Raddysh enjoys family skate time after practice for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)
New York Rangers players gather for a team picture during practice for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)
