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The league-best Milwaukee Bucks fell 139-123 to the shorthanded Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.
The Pacers, who were without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, rallied to win behind the strong play of rookie point guard Andrew Nembhard. Nembhard finished with 24 points and five assists on 47.6% shooting as Indiana outscored Milwaukee 84-59 in the second half.
Following the game, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer spoke highly of the Pacers’ performance while also highlighting his side’s need for improvement:
“A lot of credit to Indiana,” Budenholzer said.
“They played well tonight, particularly in the second half. Made a lot of threes, got out in transition. There was a lot of areas where we needed to be better, but a ton of credit to the Pacers tonight.”
In total, the Pacers had eight players finish with double-digit scoring. Indiana also shot a blistering 53-for-96 (55.2%) and 21-for-45 (46.7%) from 3-point land in what was an offensive onslaught from the team.
When asked why the Bucks struggled to keep up with the pace of play of Indiana’s young squad, Budenholzer raved about the Pacers’ relentlessness:
“They’re just relentless, they keep coming,” Budenholzer said.
“From the point guard, they attacked, they got to the paint. They keep (the pace) up, that’s how they play every night. They’re well-coached. They know what they’re doing. They’re just kind of relentless in transition.”
Milwaukee also had seven players score in double figures, led by superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists and one steal on 58.8% shooting.
However, the Bucks as a team shot just 11-for-32 (34.4%) from deep.
Updated Eastern Conference standings following Indiana Pacers’ upset win over Milwaukee Bucks
Despite the loss, the Milwaukee Bucks(50-20) still sit a full two games ahead of the second-seeded Boston Celtics (48-22) in the Eastern Conference. They are also three games ahead of the one-seeded Denver Nuggets (47-23) out West. So Milwaukee is on track to have homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers (32-38, 11th in the East) are now just a half-game behind the 10th and final play-in spot in the East.
Milwaukee will next play on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors (34-36, ninth in the East). Indiana will next play on Saturday against Philadelphia 76ers (46-22, third in the East).
