Bucks Zone

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

Giannis’ gigantic game went down the drain.

Matthew Dugandzic

© Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored the most points by any player this season so far, but the Milwaukee Bucks saw their three-game win streak come to an end with a 124-126 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.

Ejected in the third quarter of Milwaukee’s 120-118 win over the Detroit Pistons the other night, Antetokounmpo played with a lot of fire and finished with 54 points, his seventh career 50-point performance.

Giannis went to work in the third

Damian Lillard sat out due to calf soreness but the Bucks had a chance to win this one despite trailing by as many as 18 points and head coach Adrian Griffin getting tossed in the third quarter due to two technical fouls.

The Bucks trailed at the half, 60-66, but Giannis dropped 18 points in the third quarter to lead Milwaukee to a 94-93 lead heading into the final period. Milwaukee zoomed to a 113-103 advantage—its largest in the game—in the final 7:08, and was still ahead by nine, 117-108, with only 5:18 left.

Faulty endgame

Milwaukee, however, crumbled in the finish with Giannis committing two crucial errors in the closing seconds that spelled the Bucks’ downfall.

With Milwaukee down by a point, 121-122, with 1:03 left, Giannis threw an errant pass then after a steal by Brook Lopez in the next play, he lost the ball to Benedict Mathurin, who then hit two free throws that extended Indiana’s lead to 124-121, with 8.4 ticks left.

Coming off a timeout, Khris Middleton missed a three-pointer before Bruce Brown sealed the outcome of the contest with free throws.

Middleton finished with 19 points in his return from a one-game absence. Malik Beasley added 13 points, while Bobby Portis Jr. had 11 points and eight rebounds. Brook Lopez could only score two points and grab one rebound as the Bucks dropped to 5-3 in the season.

Tyrese Haliburton collected 29 points and 11 assists, Mathurin added 26 and 10 rebounds, while Myles Turned chipped in 21 as Indiana pocketed its third straight win to improve to 6-3. 

Milwaukee Bucks' odd start offers cause for concern

Published
Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.