Pacers explode for 47 in 3rd, continue dominance of Bucks،
INDIANAPOLIS — All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton wanted to emphasize that Indiana's success against Milwaukee was no fluke.
So, on Wednesday night, the budding young star made sure of that – again.
Haliburton had 31 points and 12 assists and contributed to a 47-point third quarter to lead the Pacers past the Bucks 142-130 for their fifth straight victory. It was Haliburton's 18th game with at least 20 points and 10 assists, tied for the most by a Pacers player in a season, according to research from ESPN Stats & Information.
“I think as a young group, when you play good teams, you want to be as prepared as possible for them,” Haliburton said. “But I think part of the maturation of this group has to be maintaining that competitiveness and being ready for games that aren't against the Bucks.”
The series has been unbalanced this season. Just two days after ending Milwaukee's 15-game home winning streak, the Pacers opened the second half on a 21-6 run and never trailed again. The Pacers are 4-1 against the Bucks this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Milwaukee, falling just short of his fourth triple-double this season. Damian Lillard added 23 points and five assists, and Khris Middleton overcame a sprained right wrist and sore right knee to add 19 points and seven assists.
For the Bucks, this has been a series filled with frustration.
The Central Division opponents have become frighteningly familiar, playing five times in 54 days – including the semifinal of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas. Four games have produced a combined total of at least 247 points.
“I think what's embarrassing is we're way better than we showed in the games against them,” Lillard said. I also don't look at things and say, 'Oh, it's just the regular season.' We wanted to win these games.”
The end results were only part of what defined the series. It also became emotional and, at times, nervous.
An argument over a missing game ball led to a bizarre postgame scene in December when Antetokounmpo sprinted toward the Indiana locker room. Bucks forward Bobby Portis was ejected from a game, and in Las Vegas, Haliburton drew the ire of some for imitating Lillard by pointing to his wrist after making a late 3-pointer while the Bucks were on the point of being eliminated.
The final regular season game of this series only added fuel to the fire.
Indiana fans repeatedly counted the seconds Antetokounmpo took to shoot free throws, Milwaukee's bench was called for a technicality in the third quarter, and Lillard and Bennedict Mathurin chatted between third and fourth quarter. Mathurin had 16 points.
Then, in a foul-prone fourth, after Pacers swingman Buddy Hield threw a pass off the backboard to Isaiah Jackson for a dunk to make it 118-100 with 9:41 left and after a time death from Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo was hit hard. floor. Players gathered near the basket and after an official review for hostile act, Milwaukee rookie Andre Jackson Jr. and Obi Toppin were both called for technical fouls.
But the difference in this game was Indiana's third-quarter blowout.
Milwaukee came out of a first half with a 68-66 lead, but the Pacers opened the second half on a 21-6 run and extended the lead to 113-97 after three quarters, and the Bucks couldn't get closer than 10 for the rest of the game.
“I would just say we did a good job of digging in and stopping when we needed to.” Haliburton said. “When we play in transition, we are a very difficult team to beat.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
