Milwaukee vs. Indiana: Bucks Suffocate Hapless Pacers

The Milwaukee Bucks breezed to their third-consecutive victory by throttling the Indiana Pacers 102-83. Indiana was missing Malcolm Brogdon and a handful of other contributors last night, and it showed. As for the Bucks, it was just another day of watching jaw-dropping plays from Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Three Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s streak of scoring thirty points came to an end, but if this game was actually a “game,” he could have gone for at least 40. In all, he scored 26 points to go along with 13 boards, and six dimes. What he was doing to the Pacers was unfair, I mean, they had no answer for him except to just hack him. Giannis made 10-of-17 field goals and continues to display confidence in his three-point shooting. He converted on 3-of-6 tries, and the top of the arch is his money spot. The only knock on last night’s performance was his five turnovers, but that is just nitpicking, especially when the Bucks win 19.

Last night was a much-needed confidence boost for Donte DiVincenzo. He had been struggling for the last week, but his slump ended against the Pacers. He scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 24 minutes. He was very active on both ends of the floor and always moving at full-speed. Donte came out aggressive early on Saturday and helped set the tone. He also added two three-point makes and finished plus-16. Not too shabby!

Sterling Brown has absolutely earned his minutes. He played 26 last night, and hit two corner three-pointers in the fourth quarter to help put Indiana to bed. His 10 points were tops of the bench mob and he also chipped in with six rebounds, and four assists. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I just LOVE how he crashes the boards with no regard for human life. With Khris Middleton out for almost one month, get ready to see more of Sterling. He’s earned it.

Bonus Bucks

• Brook Lopez scored 15 points and blocked five shots in the victory, He went up against Myles Turner and got the best of him multiple times. Even though he hasn’t shot the ball from deep at a high clip, his elite defense in the paint more than makes up for it.
• Eric Bledsoe made only 5-of-14 shots last night for 10 points but still made some excellent passes.
• The Bucks shot only seven free throws...wild!
• Doug McDermott was a minus-20 in 20 minutes. Yikes.