The Milwaukee Bucks capped off their three-game homestand with a win over the Indiana Pacers. They finally got the monkey off their back, winning three games in a row for the first time this year. Kevin
Porter Jr. was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points. Andrew Nembhard led a depleted Pacers squad with 22.
Game Recap
The Bucks found themselves in an eight-point hole early on, thanks to a rough 2/6 start from the floor. Milwaukee was able to course-correct, responding with a 14-2 run to take their first lead of the game. It was all capped off by a Bobby Portis three-pointer in his first game back, after missing the last two with a hip contusion. Indiana’s bench continued to be a pain in Milwaukee’s backside, as they engineered a 12-3 run to retake the advantage. Aaron Nesmith drilled a shot from beyond the arc with 30 seconds left, giving the Pacers a six-point lead after the first 12 minutes, 29-23.
Portis made his return well-known in the next quarter. With the Bucks down by six, BP went on a personal 7-0 run to pull them ahead. The two former playoff adversaries, now turned draft lottery hopefuls, went back and forth throughout much of the second frame. AJ Green shifted the momentum to the Bucks, drilling a top-of-the-key three, putting them ahead by five. That margin grew to nine points for Milwaukee after Ryan Rollins and Myles Turner each buried threes. Jarace Walker finally stopped the bleeding for Indiana with a two at the buzzer, but Milwaukee went into the locker room up 54-47.
The Bucks continued to pour it on to begin the second half. Green buried two more three-pointers, as Milwaukee went on a 16-6 run, building their advantage to 17.
BP got in his bag again in the waning stages, hitting his patented post fadeaway, and then pulled up from mid-range in Micah Potter’s face. Those two buckets gave the Bucks their largest lead of the night to that point, going up 19. After a couple of baskets from T.J. McConnell got the lead down to 15, KPJ ended the quarter with an and-one layup, sending Milwaukee up by 18, 83-65.
While the Pacers scored the first four points of the fourth, the Bucks scored on three straight possessions, extending their lead to 20. Pete Nance joined in on the fun, throwing down a two-handed jam, leading to an Indiana timeout. Things seemed to be in cruise control, but the Bucks went cold as the Pacers went on a 15-0 run, cutting the lead to just five with 5:07 left. Rollins finally ended a four-minute and 35-second scoring drought for Milwaukee with a layup. The Pacers got the game within four, but a 9-2 run by the Bucks put the game out of reach. Rollins put the Bucks up 11 with 1:21 to go, but Indiana wouldn’t go away, trimming the Milwaukee lead down to just four with 11 seconds left. Portis scored a quick layup on the other end, officially sealing the game for the Bucks.
Stat That Stood Out
One of the biggest storylines for the Bucks this season has been their inability to rebound, especially on the offensive glass. Tonight was a much different story, as they secured 13 in the win. Myles Turner and Jericho Sims each had four.
