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What we learned from the Milwaukee Bucks' sorry loss to the Indiana Pacers
The Milwaukee Bucks’ three-game winning streak ended on Thursday after the Indiana Pacers prevailed, 126-124. The Pacers’ win gave them the lead in the Central Division standings at 6-3, while the Bucks dropped to 5-3. Here are a couple of takeaways from the exciting showdown.
Late-game scoring woes pop up again
Part of the reason why the Bucks pulled the trigger on the trade that brought Damian Lillard to Milwaukee was to alleviate its scoring woes late in games. As terrific a team as the Bucks have been over the last few seasons, they always seem to seize up when the game is on the line in crunchtime situations. This much was evident in last season’s first-round exit in the NBA Playoffs when the Miami Heat were seemingly a step ahead of them at every turn.
But with Lillard sitting the game out versus the Pacers, it was on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton to carry the load down the stretch. However, the duo couldn’t deliver the goods when it mattered most as Giannis committed two turnovers—he had eight for the entire game—while Middleton missed the potential game-tying triple.
Adrian Griffin sticks to his word
Bucks coach Adrian Griffin remarked on Wednesday that he had to do a better job of sticking up for his players when they get the short end of referees’ calls. This was in response to Giannis getting ejected from the game against the Pistons for incurring two technical fouls—the last one on a taunting call after he posterized Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart.
On Thursday, he stuck to his guns and got ejected with under eight minutes remaining in the third after he got called for two technical fouls.
“I thought Giannis was getting hit quite a bit and voiced my opinion,” Griffin said. “Next time I’ll be a little more delicate. He’s such a great human being and doesn’t complain, has such respect for the referees. It is my responsibility to make sure he’s protected.”
