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Malik Beasley and the Milwaukee Bucks lost in a thrilling game 126-124 to Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers. Despite Giannis Antetokounmpo’s season-high 54 points, the Bucks couldn’t make the crucial plays late in the game to seal the victory. Milwaukee trailed by 18 points in the first quarter but led by 10 in the fourth period. Haliburton’s performance throughout the game was a big reason the Pacers pulled off the win.
Midway in the fourth quarter, with the Pacers trailing 113-106, Haliburton signaled for Myles Turner to give a pick. Instead of waiting for that play to unfold, he suddenly drove to the lane before passing to a wide-open Andrew Nembhard for a 3-pointer.
Beasley, who guarded Indiana’s All-Star point guard, hilariously remained stuck while Haliburton blew by him. The sequence had fans on X, formerly Twitter, in stitches:
“What’s homie doing bruh?”
Tyrese Haliburton didn’t do anything necessarily special with his dribble. Calling for the Myles Turner pick completely fooled Malik Beasley, who may have been hurt before the play happened. Milwaukee’s shooting guard likely anticipated Turner to come between him and Haliburton, which would have forced Jae Crowder to guard Indiana’s star player.
The result looked like there was a glitch of sorts in the game. Beasley was a second late to react, giving Haliburton two steps into his move before the former LA Lakers guard reacted.
Malik Beasley has had an up-and-down season for the Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks acquired Malik Beasley in the offseason to shore up their shooting. With Grayson Allen and Joe Ingles no longer with the team, Beasley could play a big role for the Bucks this season.
In seven games with his new team, he has been on a roller-coaster ride. Beasley hit five, 18 and five points, respectively in three October games. This month, he had 0, three, 10 and 13 points, respectively. The good news is he has been more efficient with his shots compared to his one season with the LA Lakers.
Beasley is hitting 46.8% of his shots, including 41.2% from behind the arc. His presence makes it more difficult for opponents to contain the Damian Lillard-Giannis Antetokounmpo pick-and-roll game. Defenders will have to respect Beasley’s outside shooting, which will take away some of the help defense designed for the Lillard-Antetokounmpo action.
Bucks coach Adrian Griffin, however, doesn’t just expect Beasley to play his part on offense. The shooting guard has to contribute on the defensive end to keep playing. Losing Jrue Holiday in the Damian Lillard trade has been brutal for the Bucks on defense. Beasley will have to pick up some of the slack.
The defense Malik Beasley played against Tyrese Haliburton will undoubtedly need to improve. While he is not going to face an All-Star guard every night, Beasley has to step up in that area to make up for his up-and-down performances in offense.
