Though the Bucks dropped the tanking Pacers 134-123, Giannis left midway through the third quarter with what’s so far being called a hyperextended left knee. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
Player Grades
Giannis Antetokounmpo
23 minutes, 31 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 11/22 FG, 9/13 FT, +17
Stupidly efficient. Ran the offense even while Rollins was on the floor, and everything came easy for him in his initial shift. The injury took place
when he came down hard on a monster dunk over Jay Huff in the third and was so slow to get up on defense, that he hadn’t left the restricted area after the Bucks forced a quick Pacers turnover (that did get him a cherry-picked dunk). And yes, the left knee was the one he famously hyperextended in the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals and returned from a week later.
Grade: A+
Myles Turner
30 minutes, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 4/7 FG, 3/6 3P, +6
Maybe Turner didn’t do a whole lot on the stat sheet outside of shooting the ball well, but this was one of his better rim protection games (Indy had just 30 in the paint). Nice to see him play legit minutes over Sims.
Grade: B+
Ryan Rollins
37 minutes, 20 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 turnovers, 3 steals, 8/12 FG, 3/5 3P, +14
The most I’ve seen out of Rollins as a three-level scorer in a while. Probably could have used more of him on Aaron Nesmith rather than T.J. McConnell, who was surprisingly a non-factor.
Grade: A
Kyle Kuzma
36 minutes, 8 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 3/7 FG, 2/6 3P, -1
Not sure when the last time Kuzma has led the Bucks, or any team, in assists. Missed a couple clean looks but this is about all you can ask for when he’s limited to standing in the corner.
Grade: B
AJ Green
24 minutes, 12 points, 4/7 3P, +8
It’s been so rough for Green lately, but he came alive in the second quarter hitting 3/4 from deep, keeping the Bucks in the game as their defense scuffled. Just under eight minutes in the second half was kind of weird.
Grade: B
Bobby Portis
27 minutes, 29 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 11/21 FG, 6/11 3P, -4
In a month of big Portis performances, this season-high output easily took the cake. Post-game, he talked about how he felt much more pressure in the three-point competition at All-Star weekend and ever since, he’s felt a lot more confident shooting in-game threes. Sure enough, he’s 28/57 from deep since then, good for 49.1%.
Grade: A+
Taurean Prince
22 minutes, 13 points, 5/7 FG, 3/5 3P, +13
Today’s first sub. Missed his only three-point attempt very long, but redeemed himself in the corner his next shift. His two triples as the third finished were big. Defense isn’t all the way back yet, as he got into Jarace Walker’s landing space in the second half, which was upgraded to a flagrant-one. Cheers to another season high.
Grade: A-
Jericho Sims
14 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1/3 FG, +1
Another game where Sims hasn’t had much impact on the glass, but was certainly the Bucks’ most active frontcourt defender. This just feels like a more right-size role for him, because even when setting aside his shooting, Turner was the more impactful Buck today.
Grade: C+
Gary Harris
22 minutes, 6 points, 2/4 FG, 2/4 3P, -2
Dusted off for real minutes for just the second time since the break, and his heaviest workload since January 23rd. Not sure why he was the choice over Thomas, but he held his own.
Grade: B-
Doc Rivers
I didn’t get some of the jumbo lineups early but I liked how Doc leaned into Portis after halftime. Seems like he’s really tried to get Portis more involved in the last week after a scoreless first half against Utah last Saturday.
Grade: B+
Limited Minutes: Pete Nance
Garbage Time: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Andre Jackson Jr.
DNP-CD: Cam Thomas, Gary Trent Jr.
Inactive: Alex Antetokounmpo, Ousmane Dieng, Kevin Porter Jr., Cormac Ryan
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Doc’s comments on Giannis’ injury in the press conference were foreboding. He didn’t know whether or not Giannis would get imaging tonight, nor even which knee was hurt:
“I really didn’t see it until after the game. I thought I saw live something that didn’t look good, honestly. But I [didn’t] have video. So I just looked at it and my guess is that he hyperextended his knee. But I’m guessing.”
- For what it’s worth, Giannis agreed with the diagnosis but seemed less concerned, and confirmed that no imaging occurred this evening:
“Yeah, I think I hyperextended my knee. I haven’t seen the clip, I wanna see the clip, but it doesn’t matter. I’m just gonna go back home, sleep, see how I feel tomorrow. Try to lift some weights, and if I have a little bit of discomfort, then I’ll go from there, but as of now I’m not really bothered.”
- Predictably, Giannis wanted to return and thought he could finish the game, but the Bucks’ training staff convinced him it wasn’t a smart idea, being up around 13 points at the time. He acknowledged they were right: “you just gotta listen… and I listened… just gotta trust them.”
- Ousmane Dieng missed his second consecutive game with illness. Kevin Porter also didn’t play in this SEGABABA after 30 minutes yesterday in Atlanta.
- Indiana had a long list of inactives too: regulars Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, and Pascal Siakam sat out, joining Johnny Furphy and Tyrese Haliburton with their long-term injuries.
- A very awkward Bucks lineup ended the first: Harris, Kuzma, Nance, Portis, Sims. It even stayed on the floor the first 44 ticks of the second. Ballhandlers? Who needs ‘em!
- Having said that, I don’t understand why Cam Thomas didn’t see any action today. Sure, he’s not a point guard, but creation would helped, even if it was for himself.
- Can’t dispute this kind of creation, though: on 23 made threes, the Bucks assisted on 22 of them. Where was this earlier in the year?
- Somehow the Bucks outrebounded the Pacers on the offensive glass 13-10. I’d be embarrassed if I was Indy.
- After today, Nance now has four games left on his two-way contract. Decision time is coming, and everything I’ve heard suggests Andre Jackson Jr. will be cut to make way for a new deal for Nance.
Up Next
The Bucks hit the Fiserv Forum floor again on Tuesday evening as the Cavs come to town for one last matchup. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. CDT on NBC, Peacock, and FanDuel Sports Wisconsin.
