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Game Rewind: Pacers 103, Bucks 111 (Preseason)

Game Recap

In their final preseason game, the Indiana Pacers fell to the Milwaukee Bucks, 111-103, at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

It was a competitive game in the early going, as the teams matched each other blow for blow for the duration of the first quarter. Midway through the period, Milwaukee led 15-14. The Bucks extended their lead to four, 24-20, but a 5-0 run to end the quarter gave the visitors a 25-24 advantage heading into the second.

In the second, Indiana’s second unit pushed its lead to double digits. The Pacers led 38-28 with under eight minutes to play, but Milwaukee fired right back with 10-2 run to cut Indiana’s lead to two with 6:24 left in the half. From there, the Bucks quickly regained the lead and controlled the quarter to take a three-point advantage into halftime.

To start the second half, a quick 9-2 run gave the Pacers a 61-57 lead and forced a timeout from Bucks head coach Jason Kidd.

Indiana continued to build its lead, eventually getting it to double-digits, with the bulk of the scoring coming from Paul George. George’s layup at the 4:52 mark, which were two of his 10 third quarter points, pushed the Pacers’ lead to 81-71. But once again Milwaukee responded, this time with an 11-4 surge, to end the quarter down just three, 85-82.

The early stages of the fourth were a back-and-forth affair. The Bucks quickly put together a 9-2 run to lead 91-87, but an Al Jefferson bucket and Glenn Robinson III slam moments later tied the contest up at 91, midway through the period.

The Bucks then had the game-defining run, scoring 11 straight, capped off by a Jabari Parker three-point play and Giannis Antetokounmpo dunk, to take a 102-91 lead with 3:40 to play. The Pacers weren’t able to recover en route to their third preseason loss. Both teams finished the preseason 3-3.

Indiana was led by Paul George's 18 points. Myles Turner added 16 points and nine rebounds, and Robinson III scored 13.

For Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo finished with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. Jabari Parker put up a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Inside the Numbers

Paul George's 18 points were the most he's scored this preseason.

Jeff Teague finished with seven assists, the most he's registered since joining the team.

Myles Turner's nine rebounds led the team and were also the most he's grabbed in four preseason contests.

You Can Quote Me On That

"I thought we started the game not playing hard enough. We could play harder than that. We need to play harder than that. I thought the third quarter we came out and established ourselves defensively and offensively. We started fouling once again and were sending them to the free-throw line way too much. Thirty-three times they were in the penalty with six minutes to go. We have to continue to work to do a better job, to play defense without fouling, so that we can establish a tempo." -Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

"As a team, I think looking at it as a whole, we don’t know how good we could be right now. We can be really, really good. We just have to buy in. It’s got to mean something to us. I don’t know if it’s because it’s preseason, but there’s a reason why we just weren’t there aggressively. But, we have to lock in." -Paul George

"We all come from different systems, some are used to some things and others are used to other things. We’re just trying to come together. We need to clean it up a bit." -Jeff Teague

Noteworthy

  • Indiana won the turnover battle, committing just 11 to Milwaukee's 23
  • Milwaukee outrebounded Indiana by 16, 50-34
  • Thaddeus Young had the Pacers' best +/- rating, finishing +9

Up Next

The Pacers will host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7 PM ET for Opening Night presented by Kroger. All fans in attendance will receive a Slick Leonard bobblehead to tip off the celebration of the Pacers' 50th Season. Find Tickets »