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Tuesday, December 18th at 8:00 PM EST at the BMO Harris Bradley Center
Game Rewind: IND at MIL
by Scott Agness | December 16, 2012 | Updated December 18, 2012 at 3:02 PM
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Game Rewind
Last time the Pacers were in Milwaukee, they were beaten from the outset and trailed by as many as 32. After that game, Frank Vogel and his coaching staff determined wholesale changes were needed. Tonight, the second time around, they turned it over too many times (20) but were in it all the way. Brandon Jennings was big late for the Bucks – scoring 11 of their last 13 points – and the Pacers fell 98-93.
Turnovers were consistently a problem for the Pacers (13-12), especially in the first half. They turned it over four times in the first four minutes and nine times in the half, which led to 15 points for the Bucks (13-10). Roy Hibbert, playing with a deep left thigh bruise, was busy early and scored six in a row at one point. The Pacers held a four-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Pacers led by as many as seven points in the second quarter. Milwaukee thrived off Indiana turnovers – a storyline all game long – and cut the lead to three at the half, 48-45.
The momentum shifted to the Bucks in the third quarter as they used an 8-2 run to take back the lead 53-50. Ben Hansbrough gave the Pacers a lift off the bench with an assist, layup, pair of free throws and charge during his short stint. However, the Bucks had their best quarter of the night and outscored the Pacers 27-18, to go up one with 12 minutes to play.
Indiana had their chances down the stretch. They struggled to finish around the rim all night, turned it over and couldn’t hold Brandon Jennings late. George Hill buried a three-pointer to cut the Bucks’ lead to three with 1:17 left. Jennings connected on a layup, and then Hill made both free throws at the other end. After a miss by Jennings, Paul George’s three-point try was no good with 22 seconds remaining.
The Pacers were then forced to foul and Jennings knocked down both shots at the charity line. The ball was inbounded to Hill in the left corner and he was called for traveling as the defender closed in. Milwaukee edges Indiana at home 98-93 for their second straight win over the Pacers.
Inside the Numbers
Brandon Jennings scored a season-high 34 points – 13 coming in the fourth quarter – to lead all scorers. Monta Ellis had 19; former Pacer Mike Dunleavy added 17 and Luc Mbah a Moute recorded a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds).
George Hill paced Indiana with 18 points and David West had 12. Paul George finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
The rebounding edge belonged to the Pacers, 51-37, although the Bucks came up with a handful of critical caroms in the final minutes.
The Pacers shot 53 percent and had 13 assists in the first half. In the second, they went 30 percent from the field and recorded only 2 assists.
The Bucks registered 12 blocks (five coming in the fourth quarter), led by one of the best shot-blockers in the league, Larry Sanders, with five.
The Pacers’ bench outscored the opponent’s (36-23) for the first time in five games. This was primarily due to season-high outputs from Ian Mahinmi (14) and Ben Hansbrough (7).
Milwaukee managed 14 fastbreak points to only four of the Pacers.
Quoteworthy
“Tough loss for our guys. We competed our tails off. We had a tough night shooting the basketball. We turned the ball over too much…Brandon Jennings has been struggling from the field, 32 percent in the last five games, broke out of his slump in a big way.” – Frank Vogel
“We had a lot of [chances]. They made a lot of tough shots, but we had a lot of possessions where we should have made baskets. It just came down to that. We got good looks, but we couldn’t knock the shots down.” – Paul George
“I think we got a little sloppy with the ball tonight. In the first half we had 14 turnovers, so I think that’s a little too much for us. We want to be a low turnover team, and tonight was kind of tough.” – Ian Mahinmi
Stat of the Game
The Pacers’ 20 turnovers, their highest number in the last 13 games, was converted into 20 points for the Bucks.
Noteworthy
- The Bucks have won the last two meetings.
- The Pacers are now 3-2 vs. division opponents.
- David West was given a technical foul in the third quarter after voicing his opinion on a no-call.
- Mike Dunleavy returned after missing the last seven Bucks games.
- Lance Stephenson was back in the starting lineup after missing the last two games with a sprained right ankle.
Next Home Game
The Pacers take on the Jazz at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday, December 19th at 7:00 PM. Good seats are available and includes the Cash 5 Promotion with Hoosier Lottery. Buy Tickets »
