Bucks' Kyle Kuzma Makes Unfortunate NBA History in Game 1 vs Pacers

Blame for the 48-34 Milwaukee Bucks' brutal 117-98 defeat to the 50-32 Indiana Pacers, during the first game of their ongoing first round playoff series, can be pinned to many elements.

The biggest cause is probably the absence of nine-time All-Star Bucks point guard Damian Lillard, who's been out since mid-March with a right calf deep vein thrombosis (blood clot), but has been cleared for basketball activity recently and is expected to be back at some point in the postseason.

Still, the non-Giannis Antetokounmpo Bucks players who were available didn't comport themselves particularly well against Indiana's swarming defense and adept 3-point shooting.

No Bucks starter scored in double digits aside from Antetokounmpo (he had a 36-point, 12-rebound double-double, although he couldn't defend Pascal Siakam particularly well). Two Milwaukee starters, small forward Kyle Kuzma and shooting guard Taurean Prince, notched zero points apiece.

Kuzma's line was so bad, it was historic.

Kuzma finished the matchup with zero points on 0-of-5 shooting from the field (0-of-2 shooting from distance) and 0-of-2 shooting from the foul line, zero rebounds, zero assists, zero steals, zero blocks (and, fine, two personal fouls).

It's Easter, but Kyle Kuzma is hunting goose eggs.

0 PTS
0 REB
0 AST
0 STL
0 BLK
0-5 FG
0-2 3P
0-2 FT
21 MINS

That's the most minutes by any player in a 0/0/0/0/0 game in the last 10 playoffs. pic.twitter.com/eJC4D4U4o5
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 19, 2025

That's an impressively bad tally for a 29-year-old former champ who's making $24.4 million this season and was available for 21:34 of action before Doc Rivers finally, mercifully, ended his night for good.

As Kyle Kuzma checks out, he will be the sixth player to have at least a 20 trillion in a playoff game.

The others?

Mike Dunleavy Jr. in 2015
Bruce Bowen in 2008
Brent Barry in 2005
Michael Cage in 1993
Maurice Lucas in 1986
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) April 19, 2025

The "20 trillion" reference stems from OSU benchwarmer-turned-Mostly Sports Barstool podcaster Mark Titus' facetious terminology for a player who records no counting stats during a game. The "20" mark here is a tally of minutes played, so in this case, the listed six players have all failed to notch a stat in 20 or more playoff minutes.

More Milwaukee Bucks News: Bucks' Damian Lillard Given Technical Foul Despite Not Playing

Kuzma's jump shooting cratered has this season. He was never an elite marksman from distance, but he could at least be relied upon to make an occasional wide-open trey.

The 6-foot-9 Utah product connected on just 30.7 percent of his 4.8 triple tries during 65 regular season games this year. Since being traded to the Bucks midseason, his shooting did pick up. He made 33.3 percent of his 4.6 long range takes across 33 healthy games for Milwaukee (32 starts).

The fact that Kuzma looked so unaggressive (he took just five field goals) does not bode well for his performance in this series. This year with the Bucks, he had been averaging 14.5 points on .455/.333/.663 shooting splits, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.5 steals in his 33 Bucks bouts. Those are not the kind of numbers that would indicate this kind of horrific playoff performance was on the horizon.

More Milwaukee Bucks:

Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Supplies Odd Playoff Advice

Wild Trade Proposal Has Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Landing With Warriors

How Bobby Portis Can Replace Damian Lillard in Bucks Lineup

Nuggets’ Michael Malone Firing Has Instant Impact on Doc Rivers’ Bucks Future

For more news and notes on the Milwaukee Bucks, visit Milwaukee Bucks on SI.