Game Rewind: Pacers 142, Bucks 130

Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

With a 142-130 Wednesday night win over the 24-10 Milwaukee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers (19-14) earned their fifth consecutive victory to lock in a new record for their longest win streak of the season.

A commanding third quarter of 73.9 percent (17-of-23) shooting from the floor and a 15-point fourth frame for Tyrese Haliburton propelled Indiana to scoring the most points allowed by the Bucks this season.

Haliburton led the Pacers in the victory with 31 points on a 10-of-20 shooting clip, which includes five made 3-point field goals. He shot a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe and dished out a team-high 12 assists to round out his 25^th double-double of the season. In addition, Haliburton became just the second player in NBA history to record a game of 30+ points, 10+ assists, 3+ blocks, and zero turnovers.

Haliburton was followed by six other Pacers that ended the night in double-figure scoring. Bennedict Mathurin recorded 16 points off the bench on a 6-of-9 shooting clip, while Myles Turner, Bruce Brown, and Obi Toppin pitched in 15 points apiece. Toppin pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and both Smith and Turner recorded seven rebounds each.

Indiana sped ahead to start the matchup and took advantage of Milwaukee failing to convert in its first three possessions.

After Bruce Brown put the Pacers on the board with a turnaround jumper in their first possession of the game, Myles Turner scored Indiana’s next six points to put the Blue and Gold ahead, 8-3, after the first two and a half minutes of play. The Pacers took control of the game early on by completing their first seven shots of nine attempts (77.8 percent) from the floor.

Milwaukee responded quick to Indiana’s hot start with a 10-5 scoring run of their own. After Malik Beasley capped off the run with a 3-pointer to tie the game, 13-13, Jalen Smith drained a 3-pointer for Indiana to earn back the Pacers advantage. Five lead changes were to follow this chain of events within the next three minutes.

With a layup from Smith at the 3:45 minute mark, Indiana would go on a 10-2 scoring run until the 1:43 minute mark, allowing them to take their largest lead of the game of seven points. Smith led the Pacers in the scoring column after the first 12 minutes of play with seven points on a 3-of-5 shooting clip.

Indiana led at the end of the first frame, 33-31.

Though Indiana returned to a six-point lead a minute into the second frame, the roles soon reversed through the next five minutes as Milwaukee completed seven of their next ten scoring attempts to take a four-point lead, 47-43. A 3-pointer from Brook Lopez put the Bucks ahead, 50-45, in response to a made jump shot from Haliburton and capped off a 19-8 Milwaukee scoring run that lasted roughly four minutes.

Indiana took back a one-point lead, 51-50, for a short stint after a Khris Middleton slip and missed pass gave way for Aaron Nesmith to steal the ball and end a fast break with a dunk.

With the exception of two tied scores, the Bucks led for the remainder of the half. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Middleton’s eight points apiece allowed the Bucks to outscore the Pacers, 35-30, in the second frame.

Indiana’s final points of the half came from a 3-pointer by Buddy Hield, his first three points of the matchup, at the 3.3 second mark, allowing the Blue and Gold to bring the Bucks within two-points at the end of the first half.

Neither team led by more than seven points in the first half at any time.

Indiana was led by Obi Toppin’s 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor and six rebounds, while Haliburton also added 10 points and four assists.

Indiana opened the second half 6-of-8 from the floor and held Milwaukee to just three buckets on seven attempts within the first four minutes of play. During their 12-2 scoring run, the Pacers cruised ahead to an eight-point lead, 82-74, at the 8:07 minute mark.

The Blue and Gold proceeded to make their next two shot attempts and extended their scoring run to 15-5, which gave them a 13-point lead and racing them ahead to an 87-74 advantage.

Two free throws from Damian Lillard and a layup from Lopez brought Milwaukee within nine points, but Indiana would soon hit the gas once again. At the 5:17 minute mark, a behind the back pass from the 3-point arc by Haliburton sent Turner soaring to the basket for a dunk, putting Indiana ahead, 93-81, and bringing those in Gainbridge Fieldhouse to their feet.

The Blue and Gold continued to dominate through the remainder of the quarter as they never dropped below a nine-point lead at any time. At the buzzer, Bennedict Mathurin hit a 3-pointer to give Indiana a 16-point lead, 113-97, heading into the final frame.

It was Indiana’s 73.9 percent (17-of-23) third quarter shooting that gave them momentum to rack up a dominating 47 points in the frame. In addition, the Pacers defense held the Bucks to just nine field goals on 22 attempts within the quarter.

Mathurin scored nine points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting clip to keep the Pacers holding the advantage. Brown added eight points, Nesmith contributed seven points, and both Smith and Haliburton pitched in six points apiece.

After being held scoreless for the first two minutes of the fourth frame, it was a Hield 3-pointer and a dunk from Isaiah Jackson, assisted by a fast break pass off the glass from Hield, that propelled Indiana to its largest lead of the game, 118-100.

Milwaukee cut the deficit to 14 points, but at the 8:20 mark, a four-point play from Haliburton put Indiana up again by 18 points, 122-104. Indiana relied on three made free throws from Brown and four field goals from Haliburton to maintain their commanding lead within the next roughly six minutes. Indiana led by at least ten points at any time in the final frame.

All-Star Haliburton took over in the fourth frame to solidify the win for Indiana as he notched 15 of the Pacers’ 26 fourth-quarter points on a 5-of-9 shooting clip.

For Milwaukee, the Bucks were led by Antetokounmpo’s 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Antetokounmpo also led the team in rebounds with 11 rebounds. He was followed by Lillard’s 23 points, Middleton’s 19 points, and Lopez’ 16 points.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 15 of Indiana’s 26 fourth-quarter points, which includes nearly half of his 31 points on the night.

Indiana held Giannis Antetokounmpo to 26 points in the victory, including only two points in the first quarter. Prior to tonight, Antetokounmpo had been averaging 46.3 points per contest against the Pacers.

Indiana scored 142 points against the Bucks, which is the highest number of points that has been allowed by Milwaukee this season.

The Pacers bench outscored the Milwaukee bench, 59-38.

Indiana recorded 34 assists on the night, led by Haliburton’s 12 assists.

Aaron Nesmith recorded a team-high three steals.

The Blue and Gold shot 55.6 percent (50-of-90) from the floor and 40 percent (14-of-35) from the 3-point line.

Haliburton recorded zero turnovers.

Indiana led by as many as 18 points on multiple occasions. The Bucks largest lead was six points, earned at the 52.6 second mark in the second quarter.

“It’s been interesting. I’ve never played a team this many times…I think we’ve handled it the right way. Obviously there was the game in Milwaukee that got a little chippy. I thought we responded the right way…We’ve played the Bucks five times already. We’ve got the Celtics three more times. Those are two of the best teams in our conference. Just seeing where we stack up early against those guys has been interesting.” – Haliburton on playing tough teams early in the season

“Everybody was just locked in. We bought into the scouting reports. We had great shootarounds leading up to the games. Everybody was focused…It took a whole village to stop this team.” – Smith on the win

“Just started to make some shots. I feel like I can get a lot of threes that I like against these guys because they switch up their defense and stuff. They just started falling in the second half…I think guys did a good job of getting stops, playing in transition more. That benefited us.” – Haliburton on the offense

“We have eight guys averaging double figures all year. So you know, it’s really how we’re built.” – Head Coach Rick Carlisle on offense

“Before the last game in Milwaukee, he was averaging crazy numbers against us. So we’re just trying to get the ball out of his hands and have other people make plays. And it worked.” – Brown on controlling Antetokounmpo

“We did a good job of digging down getting good stops when needed, you know, did a good job showing our hands [and] not fouling. I thought we did a great job on the glass, that allows us to run. When we play in transition, we’re a really tough team to beat.” – Haliburton on offense clicking in the third quarter

“We have great people that are really starting to understand the personal sacrifices that need to be made to have a successful team. There are certain things about NBA season that are very challenging when it comes to minutes and roles and all of those kinds of things. But the quality of people in our locker room makes a big difference for us.” – Carlisle on recent lineup changes

“I think these are games I sort of live for. Just taking it all in. It’s dope playing in front of a large crowd like this. It gives me energy.” – Jackson on the atmosphere

“Our crowd has been awesome, they’ve been amazing. It’s been cool to play these really good teams early in the year because our fans are coming out and we’re just trying to make Pacers basketball fun and interesting.” – Haliburton on the fans

“It’s hard to put in to words how impressed I am with Obi Toppin as a man, as a young man. He just is all about the team. He loves to play the game. He loves to share the ball. He loves to be a part of something bigger than him. When he came here, there were certain things assumed. It looked like he was probably going to be the starter — he was for a while and then we shifted course a little bit. But he’s raised his level since becoming a bench player and has probably played equal if not more minutes off the bench. That kind of character and commitment to the group is what it’s going to take. And we obviously need high-level play from him. He’s a very special player.” – Carlisle on Toppin

The third quarter is where Indiana’s offense earned their dominant advantage, and ultimately the victory, as the eight players in the scoring column within the frame helped Indiana pull ahead by shooting 73.9 percent (17-of-23) from the floor. Milwaukee only made nine of 22 shot attempts (40.9 percent) within the third quarter as they were outscored, 47-29, by the Pacers.

The Pacers continue a five-game homestand on Friday, Jan. 5, when they welcome Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks to Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>