Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo overwhelm Indiana Pacers as Milwaukee Bucks dominate
Giannis Antetokounmpo is tough for anyone to guard, and in turn, that makes the Milwaukee Bucks difficult to stop. But when he is significantly outshined on offense by a teammate in a given game, the Bucks have almost no way to be beaten.
The Indiana Pacers found that out the hard way on Wednesday night. With many key veterans sidelined due to injury, the younger Pacers were tasked with slowing down the Bucks offense, which has been one of the best in the league since the All-Star break.
It didn't go well. The Bucks scored at least 30 points in every quarter, including 46 in the third, as they rolled through the blue and gold. There was little the Pacers could do to get a stop.
Antetokounmpo was his usually dominant self. He has a size advantage over any matchup he could have against Indiana, and he finished with 38 points, 17 rebounds, and 12 assists. Milwaukee cruised in his minutes, and the Greek Freak played solid defense to boot. He's an MVP candidate for a reason.
Jrue Holiday, meanwhile, had a career night. He finished with 51 points (by far a career high), eight rebounds, and eight assists. Like Antetokounmpo, he added terrific defense.
"[Jrue] and Giannis combined for 34/48. That's tough to overcome. We certainly could have defended them better, but they were tremendous." Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game.
With those two players combining for nearly 90 points, the Pacers had no chance. Other Bucks players combined to shoot 24/45 on the night, and that was enough for the Eastern Conference's top team to cruise.
"It starts with Giannis. One of the best players in the world," Pacers forward and former Buck Jordan Nwora said. "Once other guys get going, especially when you have Jrue coming in here and [having] 50, it's going to be tough to beat them on a night like that."
The Pacers, to their credit, played an impressive offensive game. They shot the ball well from deep (46.7%) and made many good plays to earn 136 points. Seven players scored in double figures, including Bennedict Mathurin, who finished with 29. On many nights, the Pacers would have won with their offensive output.
But not this one. The Bucks ran through them with physical play and a barrage of threes. That's what they do, and it was tough for the younger, smaller Pacers to overcome it.
In the end, the final score was 149-136. It was the most points that Indiana has given up in a game this season, and they dropped to 0-12 when giving up more than 130 points. They were missing their best players, but they still need to defend better.
"A lot of good learning stuff for the young guys," Carlisle said.
That's what the remaining games for the Pacers will be about, learning and development. The team is now 33-44 and 3.5 games out of the final play-in spot with five games to go. Technically, a postseason berth is still possible, but just barely. Keeping their goals centered on growth makes more sense for Indiana.
For example, on top of Mathurin's 29 points, rookie point guard Andrew Nembhard had a career-high 15 assists against the Bucks. He is rapidly improving as a point guard, and this game was more evidence of that. "He just kept the pace going. We needed to play fast... we wanted to make this as much of a track meet as possible. And he did a great job of keeping the pace of the game for as long as we could," Carlisle said of Nembhard.
Aaron Nesmith (22 points) and Jordan Nwora (18) both had solid outings again. Jalen Smith had 17 points and six rebounds off the bench. Many less experienced Pacers filled up the stat sheet tonight despite the loss. It was still a valuable night for the franchise outside of the scoreboard.
The Pacers have five games left in their season, including three at home. They next play on Friday, when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their final interconference game of the season. Development and growth will be the focus that night again.
- One-on-one with Fort Wayne Mad Ants guard and former top-10 pick Elfrid Payton. CLICK HERE.
- Jordan Nwora sets Indiana Pacers regular season franchise record for points in one quarter with 25. CLICK HERE.
- Rick Carlisle on the Indiana Pacers stretch run: 'Guys are learning and they are finding out what it's about'. CLICK HERE.
- Cleveland Cavaliers clinch playoff berth, will officially send first-round draft pick to Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
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