Pacers 126, Bucks 124: Giannis scores 54 but Milwaukee stalls out down stretch
INDIANAPOLIS – The Milwaukee Bucks (5-3) had a three-game winning streak snapped by the Indiana Pacers (6-3) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Thursday night, losing 126-124 without Damian Lillard.
With Lillard out due to calf soreness, Giannis Antetokounmpo took over and scored 54 points for his seventh career regular season 50-point game. But he and the Bucks ran out of gas down the stretch as the Pacers overcame a 10-point deficit over the final seven minutes to pull out the victory.
Antetokounmpo was 16 for 18 from the free throw line and 19 of 25 from the floor, but he had one attempt in a crowd of Pacers blocked late and turned it over on back-to-back possessions in the final minute as the Bucks did not score over the final 1 minute, 41 seconds.
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 29 points and 10 assists. Five other Pacers scored in double figures.
BOX SCORE: Pacers 126, Bucks 124
Khris Middleton had 19 for the Bucks. Cam Payne started in place of Lillard and had seven points and five assists.
Giannis 'dominant' as he scores 54 points
From the early moments, it looked as if Antetokounmpo was on a mission against the Pacers. He scored eight first quarter points, and then exploded for 18 on 6-of-7 shooting in the second quarter. He was making his free throws and seemingly had the Pacers on their heels the entire game, despite entering the contest with a sore left ankle.
"I was just; my legs were feeling good," Antetokounmpo said. "I was on balance. I feel strong. I feel like I could attack angles like I been in the past. I've been feeling like this the last three games. That means I'm kind of getting my rhythm back, so I'm kind of happy about that."
He continued his assault on the rim – and potentially the Bucks' franchise record book – as he accumulated 20 points in the third quarter. Through his first 28 minutes, he had 46 points to give the Bucks a 94-93 lead after three quarters.
"Just being dominant," Khris Middleton said. "You could see nobody out there could guard him tonight. It was either a layup, dunk or a foul. And I think he realized that, he sensed blood, and he went for it every time. That's what we needed on nights like tonight.
"Unfortunately we couldn't get the win with it. But he did a great job of attacking, seeing double teams, kicking out, knowing when to attack, knowing when to wait. Just being patient. I thought he played a great game. Just gotta be better at the end for him there, help him out a little bit more."
But, he also began to show signs of fatigue as that quarter ended. He missed his first free throw in the quarter, an attempt that barely hit the front of the rim. And In the final moments of that quarter he remained out at half-court, hands on his knees, as his teammates played 4-on-4 to close the quarter.
In the fourth quarter he was 4-for-6 for eight points but he did not get to the free throw line and had two crucial turnovers in the final minute that allowed the Pacers to get within a possession. They ultimately then took the lead.
"I didn't take care of the ball on two possessions," he said. "I had to shoot the ball, I didn't shoot the ball. But I was gassed and they was able to get a win."
It was the seventh regular season game of his career that he's scored at least 50 points and he finished one off of his career-high of 55 set against Washington on Jan. 3. He also had 54 against the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 2.
"But at the end of the day, it did not matter, it does not matter because we didn't get a win," he said. "Hopefully we can go to Orlando (Saturday) and get a win."
The Bucks franchise record for points in a game is 57, by Michael Redd.
Tyrese Haliburton pushes Pacers to win
Indiana is off to a blazing start offensively with the No. 1 scoring offense in the league (126.0 points per game), and is the only team in the league thus far to score more than 50 points in a quarter (Nov. 4 vs Charlotte) and 80 points in a half (Nov. 6 vs. San Antonio).
The generator is Oshkosh’s all-star Tyrese Haliburton. The 23-year-old came into the game averaging 23.9 points and 11.9 assists per game in leading an Indiana attack that is No. 2 in pace at 104.06 possessions per 48 minutes.
But the Pacers haven’t just running – they’re getting up shots to the tune of a league-best 96.1 field goal attempts per game.
"You see in the first five minutes we weren't ready for it," Middleton said of the Pacers' pace. "I mean, you hear about it, you see it on TV, but you get out there and you realize how fast those guys play. First five minutes was terrible as far as guys getting behind us. And Haliburton does a great job with throwing it ahead, finding guys, taking chances sometimes. But I think as the game went on we got better in our transition defense."
The Bucks did keep the Pacers from matching that average, as they made 44 of their 92 field goal attempts.
By contrast, the Bucks are last in the NBA in field goal attempts per game at 85.4 despite being sixth in pace (102.93 possessions per 48). The Bucks had 87 shots against the Pacers.
Milwaukee threw a bunch of different bodies at Haliburton to try to throw him off his game, but he still finished with 29 points and 10 assists.
He also hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:20 left in the game, giving the Pacers a 122-121 lead.
Khris Middleton makes impact for Bucks
After sitting out Wednesday for right knee injury management, Middleton was back in the lineup for the Bucks against the Pacers – and he was needed with the absence of Damian Lillard. While still clearly on a minutes restriction he was aggressive on the offensive end, particularly in the second quarter to help the Bucks get back in the game.
He scored nine points in his 4 minutes, 29 seconds of action – including seven straight at one point – to reel back in the Pacers after they rebuilt a 12-point lead in the middle of the frame. Middleton’s stretch allowed the Bucks to stay connected and eventually cut the lead to as few as two.
"At the start of the game they did a great job of pressuring us with their guards so it was just using my size, my strength and figuring out how to get to my spots without letting them or allowing them to pressure me," Middleton said of that stretch. "And that's using my teammates and them sending me in the paint, kick-outs and just playing basketball and making reads after that. But just being aggressive, picking my spots."
In the second half, he helped facilitate Antetokounmpo's 50-point effort with patented assists that have defined the pair over the last decade. For the game Middleton finished with 19 points and 4 assists.
Unfortunately for Middleton and the Bucks, he missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with 6.9 seconds left.
"I think they did a great job of running me off the initial line," Middleton said. "Just trying to get a catch. Thought I got a really good look. Just missed it. It happens."
Bucks coach Adrian Griffin ejected from game
Griffin was tossed after receiving back-to-back technical fouls for arguing about foul calls (or non-calls) on Antetokounmpo in the third quarter.
Click here for the officials explanation and to hear from Griffin and Antetokounmpo.
Did you notice?
The Bucks used a 2-3 zone with a mixture of backcourt ball pressure by Andre Jackson Jr. and MarJon Beauchamp early in the second quarter to climb back into the game. Trailing by 14 after one quarter, the Bucks went on an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to 40-35. Jackson Jr. picked up two fouls in the process, but the Bucks were able to string enough stops together to get back into the game. The two young guards teamed with Pat Connaughton, Bobby Portis and Antetokounmpo in the scheme. Malik Beasley also got in on the action for the back stretch of the nearly 3-minute stretch.
Jackson Jr.: I was just trying to stay locked in in the moment, just go out there and execute, listen to the game plan and kind of execute that. I did my best to get that done and make some impact on the defensive end and try to change the energy of the game. I feel like I did that, but we didn't come out with the win so I don't feel very gratified.
Beasley: At the time they didn't have the shooters that they wanted on the floor, so we decided to go zone and keep them in front of us. We just had to box out.
Five numbers
0 Three-pointers made by Antetokounmpo. It is the second time he’s scored 50 or more points without a three.
1-1 Bucks record in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
7 Times Antetokounmpo has scored 50 or more points in a regular season game. It is the second time he’s done so against Indiana.
17-0 Run by the Pacers in the first quarter that gave them a 20-5 lead in the opening five minutes of play.
11/11/2006 Date of Michael Redd’s franchise record 57-point game against Utah.
Damian Lillard ruled out with calf soreness
An hour before tipoff, the Bucks ruled Lillard out. He was listed as questionable earlier in the day due to soft tissue soreness in his right calf. Griffin had said earlier in the day that Lillard was going to be evaluated after his warmup.
"We have the best doctors in the league and they'll take good care of him and we'll see how he feels after he warms up," Griffin said.
Unlike previous years where teams could list "soreness" as a reason for game absences for as long as they saw fit, the league changed that rule this season.
Now, teams can no longer use "soreness" – or variations thereof – as a designation for more than two consecutive games. While the league can grant permission to use "soreness" et al. as a reason for absence, it is meant to be a placeholder for a more formal diagnosis. So, following Saturday's game in Orlando the Bucks will likely have to be more specific about the injuries their two stars are dealing with.
They will be required to identify the injury with specificity by:
Status (i.e. out, questionable, available)
Reason (injury/illness)
Laterality (i.e. left, right, or N/A)
Body part (i.e. elbow, hamstring)
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Pacers 126, Bucks 124: Giannis scores 54 but Indiana rallies late
