Three takeaways as Indiana Pacers give up late run and lose to Milwaukee Bucks

The Indiana Pacers started a four-game road trip in Milwaukee on Monday, taking on the 2021 NBA Champion Bucks. The Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo, which gave the Pacers a chance to grab a much-needed win.

Instead, the Pacers late-game defense was dreadful. Milwaukee scored 39 fourth quarter points, even without Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, and found an extra gear that the Pacers didn't have. Instead of the Pacers capitalizing on a chance to get back on track, they fell flat late.

It ruined what could have been a stabilizing win for the Pacers. They were excellent in the first half, scoring 76 points and playing lights-out offense. T.J. McConnell had 25 points at halftime, and the blue and gold were rolling.

They led by five after three quarters, too, and led 107-105 with 7:41 to go. The Bucks dominated the rest of the game, scoring 27 points down the stretch while Indiana mustered just 12. Despite many impressive moments throughout the game, the Pacers came up short.

The Pacers have now lost four games in a row for the first time all season. It is understandable, given that they have been dealing with injuries and are without talented guard Tyrese Haliburton. But losses are losses, and Indiana is now just one game ahead of ninth place in the East.

Three-point shooting changed this game. The Pacers made 19 of their 40 threes, good for 47.5%. That's good enough to win most nights. But Milwaukee knocked down 23/46 from downtown to take down the slumping Pacers. The final score was 132-119.

The Pacers are now 23-22 and are just beginning a mini road trip. There are some things they'll need to correct from this game, and they are among the takeaways from a tough loss.

The Pacers defense stinks recently

During Indiana's last three games, they have given up 375 points on 309 possessions, per pbpstats. That's good for a 121.4 defensive rating. For reference, the team with the worst defensive rating this season is the San Antonio Spurs at 119.5.

The Pacers have really struggled to slow teams down of late. Milwaukee had 42 points in the paint and 23 made threes as they picked the blue and gold apart, and even when they were down by as much as 13, they never looked rushed or pressured.

Indiana was without defensive anchor Myles Turner for two of its past three games, but they still haven't been able to contain players at the point of attack and look disconnected with their closeouts. They must clean up their defense if they want to get back on track.

Indiana must win the possession battle without Haliburton

The Pacers were efficient on offense in this game, but without Haliburton, they are a less efficient offensive team in general. They need to maximize their number of possessions in every game, if possible.

Today, they lost the rebounding battle by four and allowed the Bucks to grab nine offensive rebounds. The blue and gold had 15 turnovers to Milwaukee's 13. In the end, those stats combined gave the Bucks seven more total shot attempts than the Pacers on the night, and the teams took the same number of free throws.

During a game in which the Bucks knocked down a season-high 23 three-point shots and had 48 makes in general, conceding extra looks isn't going to work. The Pacers needed the ball more than they had it, and that hurt them in this game.

T.J. McConnell had a career night

Turner returned from injury and was excellent with 30 points, but McConnell was the biggest bright spot for the Pacers today.

He had a career day in several ways. His most points in an NBA game prior to today was 23. Against the Bucks, he had 29. He had never made more than three triples in one game until today, when he made four. He set his career-high in both stats by halftime — he had 25 points at the break and changed the Bucks' defensive scheme.

In the end, the veteran guard paired his 29 points with five rebounds, nine assists, and three steals. He was excellent and kept the Pacers in the game for much of the afternoon.

Indiana will look to get back on track on Wednesday when they battle the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

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