Superlative second half from Giannis Antetokounmpo paces Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks had to dig deep on the road against the Indiana Pacers falling behind by as much as 19 in the third quarter, but an inspired turnaround performance by Giannis Antetokounmpo and contributions from much of the non-star lineup would do the job as they walk away 120-112 victors.
Game Recap
It was a rusty display from both teams through the first four minutes of the game, although Giannis Antetokounmpo looked particularly—understandably—out of sorts operating with the ball in the paint and putting the right amount of finesse on his initial attempts to pay off great positioning. Indiana was equally inconsistent, so it was a wash early. With Giannis and Khris Middleton sitting about halfway through the first, it was up to Damian Lillard to coordinate Milwaukee’s offense. He did a relatively admirable job to set up others with Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis’s follow-up play in the paint particularly productive. General ball movement looked good for Milwaukee once the benchers arrived which kept the offense chugging. The defense took a slight step backwards, though, with typical over helping and inability to keep pace with Indy’s individual speed for a few minutes. With Giannis/Khris back out to close, Milwaukee would spark a 12-2 run to take a 30-28 lead after one. Gary Trent Jr. led Milwaukee with 8 points on 3-4 shooting.
Khris Middleton led the way for the Bucks early in the second offensively drawing a three-point shooting foul and hitting a pair of jumpers for all of Milwaukee’s points through 3:34. The Pacers ran without many of their starters allowing Milwaukee to temper a 13 point surge switching to a zone defense. A Middleton three helped halt a brief spurt of Pacers momentum, getting the deficit down to 44-46 halfway through the frame. Turnovers by Milwaukee would give Indy a spate of quick transition points, and the lineup led by Giannis and Dame struggled to do much of anything with both stars appearing physically spent and prone to errors (Giannis would 1-4 with three turnovers and three fouls in the first half, Dame with zero points on 0-7). A needed Lopez dunk put a halt to a 13-0 Pacers run followed by an AJ Green three to get it back within single digits. One last Pascal Siakam three would cancel it out and Indy would lead at the half, 53-64.
Milwaukee would chip away with a Giannis fader and Lopez free throws to go back under single digits. The offense went stagnant again, though, once Giannis took another early shot clock mid-ranger and Lillard missed a tough running layup while Giannis, Khris, and Andre Jackson Jr. racked up four, three, and three personals respectively early in the third. Struggles on offense were mirrored on defense where the Pacers generated mismatches and took advantage of lackadaisical off-ball coverage routinely as they scored 19 points in a little over five minutes of play. The Bucks pushed back with an 10-0 run of their own to avoid a full-blown rout and get it back to within 10, 74-83. Tyrese Haliburton would eventually hit a three to get the Pacers back on track only to be answered by Lillard’s first make—an extremely deep three to make it 80-86. An immediate follow-up three by Lillard capped a 19-3 Bucks run, although Indy would ultimately keep slightly ahead after three, 88-91.
A lineup of Ryan Rollins, Green, GTJ, Middleton, and Portis got run for about 90 seconds before Giannis was brought back on the floor for Rollins. Milwaukee would go zone again with Giannis then slamming home an awesome give-and-go sequence, then hitting a falling fadeaway baseline to make it 94-96. He’d then hit his fifth mid-range jumper of the night to tie things at 99 with 7:24 to go. With the game in the balance, Damian Lillard would drain his third three of the night to get Milwaukee the lead at 107-106. Gary Trent Jr. knocked down two crucial threes with the game on the line, one of which was a tough leaning look in the corner with the shot clock expiring to push the Bucks up five. Giannis would drain yet ANOTHER elbow midrange jumper over Siakam and from there it was a free throw execution game which Milwaukee passed, ending 2024 on a high note with a 120-112 road win.
Call it a comeback!
This 19 point comeback is the @Bucks biggest come from behind win this season, surpassing their previous high of 18 against the Pistons on November 13th
— Justin García | @justingarcianba.bsky.social (@JustinGarciaNBA) December 31, 2024
Stat That Stood Out
56-29
That was the scoring differential between Milwaukee and Indiana from the 6:57 mark in the third quarter onwards when Milwaukee went down 19. Giannis Antetokounmpo in particular should be given a ton of credit having scored 26 points himself in the second half—I’m not sure what mess Pascal Siakam was talking to him to start the third, but it clearly unlocked the typical Pacer-wrecker we’ve grown used to seeing in Giannis the past few seasons. Crucial scoring from Gary Trent Jr. and three timely threes from Lillard in the second half turned this one around from slopfest to strong team performance.
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