Indiana Pacers survive 54 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo to beat Milwaukee Bucks
The Indiana Pacers hosted the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night for a Central Division battle. The game was on NBATV, and both teams entered the game in the top-four of the Eastern Conference.
The Bucks were without star guard Damian Lillard, who was dealing with a right calf injury. That would make things easier for the Pacers, but they still had to deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
Early, forward Obi Toppin was on Antetokounmpo while Bruce Brown contained Middleton. As the game began, those matchups were working well. After just over three minutes, Indiana led 13-5 and forced a Bucks timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Pacers kept their foot on the gas and extended their lead to 20-5. It was a dream start for the home team against one of their best opponents of the season.
They kept pushing and led 27-9 with 4:55 on the clock in the first quarter, which prompted another timeout by the visitors. This time, it turned things around and led to a 9-3 Bucks run, which got them back in the game again.
Both teams made some big plays to close the quarter and the Pacers led 38-24 after 12 minutes. It was a special start for the blue and gold. Bennedict Mathurin led the way with eight points.
The second quarter was an entirely different game. The Bucks were pressing high up the court, and they were running some zone defense in the halfcourt. Those, in combination, slowed the Pacers offense down early in the frame, and Milwaukee was able to cut Indiana's lead down as low as five.
The Pacers responded after a timeout and got their lead back up to twelve before another Bucks response. The second quarter was as back and forth as it comes, but Milwaukee was the better team for much of it.
Antetokounmpo got going to close the half and shaved off much of the Pacers' lead. He's a tough cover for Indiana with his size and strength. The former MVP had 26 points at halftime.
Indiana was ahead 66-60 at the break, and they were led by Mathurin's 16 points at the time. Tyrese Haliburton (15) and Myles Turner (14) were close behind.
The second half opened with Antetokounmpo continuing his dominance. He was getting to the rim and drawing fouls with ease, and that led to efficient offense. They tied the game up after about two-and-a-half minutes of play.
A minute later, they retook the lead. Antetokounmpo had draw so many fouls that the Pacers had to change their rotation, and Turner was sharing the frontcourt with Daniel Theis. It was Theis' season debut. The Pacers were searching for answers.
Just after, Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin got into an officials face after an Antetokounmpo dunk, and he was ejected for a double technical. The Pacers jumped ahead after the free throws, but Milwaukee reclaimed the lead quickly. Indiana took a timeout.
Not long after, the Bucks took Antetokounmpo out of the game. That led to a small Pacers run — it ended up at 7-0 — and it was enough for the home team to reclaim the lead. The Greek Freak couldn't sit much if Milwaukee was going to pull out a win.
He played for the remainder of the third quarter after checking back in, and the Bucks led 94-93 at the end of the frame. Antetokounmpo was up to 46 points and 10 rebounds at that point while the Pacers were led by Haliburton and Turner, who each had 19.
The final period began with the Pacers playing at a size disadvantage. They were going to have to outscore the Bucks to win — stopping Antetokounmpo was going to be almost impossible.
The former MVP reached 50 points with 10:30 to go in the final quarter. He was unstoppable. Indiana was going to need a creative solution to win this game, especially with their foul trouble.
With Milwaukee ahead by nine and 9:21 to go, Antetokounmpo checked out of the action. The Pacers had to dominate the next few minutes if they were going to have a chance at winning the game.
With 6:10 to go, the dominant forward returned. Indiana had only cut the lead down to five. They didn't take advantage of an important three-minute stretch, and that was going to make the final stretch difficult.
But they were up for it. Giannis scored twice immediately after checking in, and the Bucks had a cushion. They led by nine with five minutes to go and were on the verge of putting things away.
The Pacers responded with a quick 5-0 run to force a Bucks timeout, though, and the game was in clutch time. Indiana has been a great clutch team all season, and that continued in this one.
Big buckets from Turner, Haliburton, and Mathurin earned the Pacers some points quickly, and their defense stepped up. Suddenly, they were ahead. Mathurin was excellent on Antetokounmpo in the final minutes.
There was just 90 seconds to go after Haliburton gave Indiana the advantage again. They had a chance to earn a huge win.
They forced two turnovers before Mathurin hit two key free throws. The Pacers were up 124-121 with 8.4 seconds to go, and the Bucks had the ball. It all came down to one possession.
Middleton missed a three, and the Pacers executed to close the game. They held on to win 126-124.
Haliburton led the way for the Pacers with 29 points and 10 assists. Mathurin had 26 while Turner had 21. It was the best win of the season for Indiana.
The Pacers are now 6-3 and next play against the 76ers in Philadelphia on Sunday.
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