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Giannis Antetokounmpo went beast mode on the Indiana Pacers with 54 points

Indiana was in for a long night from the get-go.

Jonas Panerio

© Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
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Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo walked onto the Indiana Pacers’ homecourt with bad intentions. While the Bucks won the first of a back-to-back set, he didn’t get to finish the game against the Detroit Pistons, as he was ejected in the third quarter after getting slapped with two technical fouls.

This set the stage for Giannis to take his frustration out on the Pacers the next night. And that’s exactly what he did. The two-time MVP was unstoppable, scoring 54 points — including 20 in the third quarter. However, he faltered late, committing two costly turnovers, which the Pacers took advantage of to escape with a 126-124 win.

Started the game hot

It was clear from the get-go that Giannis had it going. He scored eight in the first and had 18 in the second quarter, as the Bucks chipped away at the Pacers’ early lead. With his jumper flowing and his free-throw shooting on point, Antetokounmpo padded his total with 20 more points in the third quarter as Milwaukee grabbed the lead, 94-93.

“I was just, my legs were feeling good,” Giannis 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.”

Couldn’t finish it off

Giannis added eight more to his point total to reach 54 points—the seventh time in his career that he’s reached 50+ points in the regular season. It was all for naught, though, as the Bucks couldn’t hold on to a 113-103 lead and didn’t score for the last 1:41 to fall to the gritty Pacers.

“I didn't take care of the ball on two possessions,” Giannis said of his late miscues. “I had to shoot the ball, I didn't shoot the ball. But I was gassed and they was able to get a win.”

“But at the end of the day, it did not matter, it does not matter because we didn't get a win,” Giannis added. “Hopefully we can go to Orlando (Saturday) and get a win.”

The Milwaukee Bucks lose to the Indiana Pacers despite Giannis Antetokounmpo's great night

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Jonas Panerio
JONAS PANERIO