Game Rewind: Pacers 113, Bucks 97

Welcome back Victor Oladipo.

On a night in which the All-Star guard returned to the lineup, the Pacers continued their winning ways, notching their fifth straight victory with a 113-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Oladipo, who missed the last 11 games with a sore right knee, looked comfortable in his return to the floor, picking up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

But with all eyes on Oladipo, it was a bruising performance by the Pacers' starting forwards, Thaddeus Young and Myles Turner, that stole the show. Each surpassed 20 points while providing exemplary rim protection against MVP-candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was held to just 12 points.

"It was great team defense," said Young, who led the team with 25 points and 11 rebounds. "All of my teammates were in gaps. Every time I made (Antetokounmpo) spin, or I jumped in front of him, guys would make him pass the ball. It was a great team effort."

While the Pacers (18-10) led for the entire game, the Central Division-leading Bucks made things close down the stretch, cutting it to a 101-93 Pacers lead when Eric Bledsoe — who scored a game-best 26 points — drained a jumper with 4:18 left in the game.

Following a Pacers timeout, Turner canned his fourth 3-pointer of the night, which was followed up by a jumper from Oladipo, pushing Indiana's advantage back to 13 points.

With the Bucks (18-9) on the ropes, Darren Collison delivered the final dagger, a 3-pointer from the corner with 2:13 left in the game to extend it to a 111-95 lead and force a Bucks timeout as Indiana cruised to the victory from there.

"I thought he was perfect," said McMillan of Oladipo after the victory. "You know, when you’ve been off for a long time like that, you focus on the defensive end of the floor… you get your wind that way offensively and just allow the game to come to you. He’s been watching us for the last couple of weeks and I thought he did a good job of moving the ball and getting guys involved."

Fans got an early lift in the game when Oladipo connected on his first shot from the field — a 3-pointer from the corner — that lifted the home crowd to its feet and forced a Milwaukee timeout with the Pacers leading 16-9.

Coming out of the stoppage, the Pacers' 3-point barrage continued as Turner and Bojan Bogdanovic each sent home a triple, widening the advantage to a 22-9 Pacers lead. Despite a 10-0 Bucks run, the Pacers were able to close the opening quarter leading 29-23.

Indiana opened up the second frame on a tear, breaking out a 14-4 run that was capped by a 3-pointer from Doug McDermott that put the Pacers ahead 43-27. The Pacers remained in control to close the half, as Young knocked down three free throws and Oladipo converted on a floater in the lane for the final bucket of the half, putting Indiana ahead 58-43.

To start the second half, it looked like Indiana might be putting the game away early as Bogdanovic and Young each connected on threes to go up by 21 points.

That run, however, was immediately followed by seven unanswered scores from the Bucks, as the visitors continued to pound away at their deficit, nearly getting it to single digits.

But Turner was able to help parry the runs, knocking down two threes in the third quarter to break 20 points for the second consecutive game. The end result was a third quarter that was fought to a 27-27 draw, sending the teams into the fourth quarter with the Pacers leading 85-70.

The teams traded baskets to start the fourth, as the Bucks inched closer with an Antetokounmpo three. With 4:18 remaining in the game, Milwaukee continued to chip away, getting it down to just an eight-point Pacers lead and forcing a timeout from McMillan.

But out of the stoppage, Oladipo sent a behind-the-back pass to Turner, who drained his fourth 3-pointer of the night to create seperation once more. Following a stop on defense, it was Oladipo on the attack, making a jumper to push the advantage back to 106-93 with 3:38 remaining as the Pacers closed out their fifth straight win.

With 31 assists, it was sixth time the Pacers have surpassed 30 assists this season.

Myles Turner took 22 shots from the field, the most he's ever taken in a game. His previous high was 20 against the Knicks in February of 2016.

The Pacers outrebounded the Bucks 55-43. It is Indiana's fourth straight game outrebounding an opponent while collecting more than 50 rebounds.

Doug McDermott was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field (12 points).

"It was a team effort, but we did talk about Thad doing a good job of keeping Antetokounmpo in front of him and keeping him off the boards. With Thad doing such a good job of containing him, our defense didn’t have to collapse and give them open 3’s from the perimeter. That’s where is starts for us, it’s got to be a team effort… tonight our guys were connected on the defensive end of the floor." -Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

"I can’t get it all back in one possession. I haven’t played in three weeks. You try to come out here and do too much, you kind of hurt your team a little bit and you hurt yourself. You know you’re not used the rhythm of the game and things like that. My team has been playing well. Like I said, I learned a lot sitting out and watching them. I trust my teammates and I trust they’ll make the right play. Guys stepped up and played huge tonight." -Victor Oladipo

"We were scrambling out. We knew Giannis was going to put his head down and go. The biggest thing is that we were able to help, get out to the 3-point shooters, and they just happened to miss tonight due to our efforts. Sometimes it may not be our night and they may make a lot of shots but tonight they weren’t making, and we were able to go our way." -Darren Collison

After Wednesday's victory, the Pacers are now 12-3 against the Eastern Conference, including a 7-1 record at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Pacers head to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers on Friday night at 7:30 PM ET. Following that game, the Pacers return home to take on the New York Knicks on Sunday, Dec. 16 at 5:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »

Jack's Donuts: Visit your local Jack's Donuts the day after a Pacers victory and mention the Pacers win to receive a free twelve ounce coffee with any purchase. Visit JacksDonuts.com to find the Jack's Donuts nearest you.