Game Preview: Pacers at Bucks

Last Updated: Nov. 2 at 11:40 AM

The Pacers are now four games into the 2016-17 season, long enough that some of the team's strengths and weaknesses are coming into focus.

Their strongest aspect was on full display in the closing minutes of the Pacers' 115-108 win over the Lakers, as Paul George lifted the team by scoring the final 12 points for Indiana in a heroic closeout performance.

It wasn't exactly the type of ball-movement basketball that coaches crave, but the defensive matchups were there for George, and he exploited them.

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"I just had an opportunity to try to win the game for us and took advantage of it," explained George after the game. "I thought the matchups, they had me matched up against a point guard, were something that Nate (McMillan) saw and he called the plays for me. I knew I had to continue to be aggressive, especially since I felt they would guard me the same way."

What's becoming a concern for a Pacers, however, isn't how they closeout games, it's the need to close them out in the first place.

In their opener against the Mavericks, the Pacers led by double-digits, yet needed overtime to seal the win. In their first road game against the Nets they led by double-digits as well, but were overtaken in the fourth quarter. And on Tuesday night in front of the home crowd, the Pacers saw a 16-point first half lead flipped when Larry Nance Jr. hammered a putback dunk late in the fourth quarter to put the Lakers up by one.

Luckily for Indiana, the play of Paul George and some of the supporting cast has been able to cover some of the blemishes, but the Pacers know they need to lock in defensively to stymie teams from climbing back into games.

So far, the Pacers are allowing 107.2 points per 100 possessions, the fourth-worst mark in the NBA.

On Thursday night, they get a chance to test their defense against a team built on athleticism, the Milwaukee Bucks.

So far, Milwaukee's defense has struggled as well, allowing opponents to score 106.5 points per game.

The Bucks are led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, a new-age point guard who is averaging 23.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game.

The Pacers are going into the game searching for their first road win of the season.

Jeff Teague

Monta Ellis

Paul George

Thaddeus Young

Myles Turner

Matthew Dellavedova

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Tony Snell

Jabari Parker

Miles Plumelee

Pacers: PG - Jeff Teague, SG - Monta Ellis, SF - Paul George, PF - Thaddeus Young, C - Myles Turner
Bucks: PG - Matthew Dellavedova, SG - Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF - Tony Snell, PF - Jabari Parker, C - Miles Plumlee

Pacers: Rodney Stuckey - out (right hamstring strain)

Bucks: Khris Middleton - out (post-surgery, left hamstring)

April 13, 2016: In Game 82 of the regular season, the Pacers had their playoff seeding set in stone, allowing a number of the starters to sit out to ready themselves for the postseason.

But even with a group of sparingly used players leading the way for Indiana, the Pacers closed the season on a high note, topping the Bucks 97-92 on the road in the final game of the season.

No player stood out more than Solomon Hill, who drained a career-high seven 3-pointers on the night.

"We ran the first play," said Hill. "I had some space and took it. Then Coach gave me the same play back-to-back. I think that really got me going. From there on my guys found me. I didn't take any dribble-up threes, come-off-screen threes. Everyone found me tonight, and if I have space, I'm taking it."

The Bucks made a late charge, but most of the damage had already been done, as Indiana cruised to its five-point victory.

TV: FOX Sports Indiana - Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5 FM/AM 1070 The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Pat Boylan (studio host)

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