CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Milwaukee Bucks are in a fight for playoff positioning, and they knew they needed to bounce back after a 15-point home loss to Chicago on Sunday.

That's precisely what they did, and the result was an emphatic 118-108 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night at the Spectrum Center.

The Bucks shot 72.5 percent from the field in the first half in rolling to a 22-point halftime lead, and then they pushed the margin up to as many as 26 in the second half before the Hornets made the final score respectable at the end.

Milwaukee finished at 62.2 percent from the field, and was 14 of 30 from 3-point range.

Bucks coach Jason Kidd was thrilled with the performance, giving his team high marks right across the board.

"I thought the guys came in with the right mindset to be aggressive on the road, knowing what was at stake," Kidd said. "It carried over from shoot-around and yesterday's practice. I thought the focus was at a very high level. I thought the ball movement got us going early, and I thought the guys shared the ball, and it was a team win."

The Bucks (38-36) took over fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings with the victory. They are now 12-4 in the month of March, which is the third-best record in the NBA.

Tony Snell led the way with 26 points, going 10 of 14 from the field with four 3-pointers.

Giannis Antetokounmpo added 20 points and eight rebounds. Malcolm Brogdon had 14 points and 10 assists, Khris Middleton scored 14 and Greg Monroe finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Middleton was a phenomenal plus-29 in the plus/minus; he was plus-31 at halftime.

Kidd said he saw a pep in his team that he felt was lacking in the 109-94 loss to Chicago on Sunday. The Bucks came out smoking hot, hitting 20 of their first 26 shots from the field. They were 29 of 40 at halftime, and then hit their first six shots of the third quarter to push the lead to 26.

"We looked fresh," Kidd said. "We looked like we could move. I thought Chicago, there was a slight tired or fatigued, and we exhaled. It's hard to win on the road against a very good team like Charlotte, but I thought the guys stayed the course for 48 minutes. Relying on our defense and the ball movement on offense was great."

Snell echoed Kidd's sentiments.

"We just tried to stay aggressive," Snell said. "We were moving the ball well. We were watching film from the Chicago game, we knew what our mistakes were, so we had to come out aggressive. Everybody was focused, locked in, ready to go. There was a lot of energy, a lot of positivity, and it was great."

The Hornets (33-41) had won four of their previous five, but they clearly did not come to play Tuesday night.

They remain 11th in the Eastern Conference, now trailing No. 8 Miami by three games with eight games remaining.

"I'm obviously disappointed," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "With a game of that magnitude, when you have a lot to play for, they just put a lot more into it than we did. They played harder from the beginning. Their guys were more ready to play. Our defense was beyond bad. I think you should be able to play well 82 times. That's what the best teams do. Frankly, until this year, that's the team we've always been. With this team, we've been much more sporadic in our effort, and tonight was disappointing."

Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 26 points, many down the stretch after the game had been decided. Frank Kaminsky scored 20, Jeremy Lamb scored 16, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 12.

"I think they were just more ready to play," said Cody Zeller, who finished with eight points and just one rebound. "It was a big game for us, so it's disappointing that they came out with more energy and more fight."

NOTES: This was the second of three games between the teams in the regular season. The Hornets won at Milwaukee 107-96 on opening night, Oct. 26. The teams will meet again in Milwaukee on April 10. ... The Bucks were without C John Henson (thumb) and F Michael Beasley (knee), and F Jabari Parker (knee) is out for the rest of the season. ... The Hornets were without F Johnny O'Bryant (ankle) and G Ramon Sessions (knee). ... Despite dominating the game, the Bucks were called for 26 personal fouls to Charlotte's 12. The Hornets shot 29 free throws, the Bucks 17. ... Milwaukee is now 19-7 when shooting better than 50 percent from the field. ... Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo has now scored 20 or more points 51 times this season. ... Charlotte will play at Toronto on Wednesday. ... Milwaukee will play at Boston on Wednesday.