Damian Lillard was out of the game, Giannis Antetokounmpo played for him too, he scored 54 points in Indianapolis, but the Pacers were the ones who smiled in the final and the ones who took the victory (126-124) in a crazy match.
The dawn of November 10 was magical for Giannis Antetokounmpo’s fans, but it had a bitter ending for him and his team.
In the 727th game of his NBA regular season, the Greek Freak blew away the counters as he scored 54 points in a road loss (126-124) against the Indiana Pacers in every possible and improbable way, one magical, one captivating , with an alien appearance. On the night that the schedule had two games, this night the 2021 champion sent his message, but on the same night the young, ambitious and talented Indians got the result.
The Bucks fell to 5-3 (4-1 home and 1-2 away), with Antetokounmpo making 19/24 2-pointers and 16/18 shots in 36 minutes, but seeing Brook Lopez have a bad night and Damian Lillard out with calf strain.
Chris Middleton was very good, but he remains on minutes restriction (19:52) and this hurts his team, Adrian Griffin was sent off with two technical penalties and in the end there was a bitter taste for both the critical mistakes and the result, but also for the career high that was missed by just two points.
The Pacers went up 6-3 (5-2 at home and 1-1 away), who had a plurality and impressive stubbornness to knock down the world’s best player. Clutch Tyrish Halliburton had 29 points and 10 assists, sophomore Ben Mathurin had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Myles Turner opened the court with his perimeter shooting and 20 three-pointers as the Indians deserved the win and got it. Great work from the underrated Bruce Brown, with Rick Carlisle constantly sending a second man to Antetokounmpo in the closing minutes to take the ball out of his hands.
The Bucks’ next opponent is the Magic in Orlando, early Sunday morning at 01:00 Greece.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s account
He didn’t get any attempts in the fifth minute and went to the bench frustrated by the defensive operation of the Bucks, he turned to score with his well-known frontal attacks and at the end of the period he had 8 points (3/5 2-pointers, 2/2 shots), but in a twelve minute period in which the Pacers dominated. In the second period he looked like a wrecking ball. He swarmed his opponents and led the Bucks’ counterattack, hitting mid-range shots and by halftime he had 26 points on 9/11 2-pointers and 8/8 field goals.
He was even better early in the second half when he hit 35 in two minutes. He went to the 40 with an epic dunk before midway through the third, went to the 42 and the bench for breathers with the score at 77-81. He got few, came back and closed the period at 46, with Joe Prudy now leaving him in the match at the beginning of the fourth. He went to the 50 and to the bench to consume enough fluids, came back with 6:10 left to make two more baskets and go up to 54, at 63″ he missed a pass with the score at 122-121, at 29″ he made another mistake and the Pacers took the victory in awe.
- 54 points
- 19/24 two points
- 16/18 shots
- 12 rebounds
- 3 assists
- 8 mistakes
- 4 fouls
- +6 to +/-
- at 36:29
40-60 points on racket, 14-12 points on surprise, 32-29 points from substitutes, 14-20 points from opponent mistakes, 18-14 points from second chances, 20-9 points on target three points for both teams.
THE DODECALEPTA: 38-24, 66-60, 93-94, 126-124
INDIANA PACERS (Rick Carlisle): Mathurin 26 (6/11 2-pointers, 3/7 3-pointers, 5/6 shots, 11 rebounds, 2 assists), Toppin 7 (1), Turner 21 (4/9 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) , Brown 11 (1 3-pointer, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals), Halliburton 29 (5/9 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 10 assists), Hield 11 (2/11 3-pointers), Jackson 3, Nismith 6 (2), Nemhardt 10 (2), Theiss 2
MILWAUKEE BUCKS (Adrian Griffin): Middleton 19 (2 3-pointers, 4 assists in 19:52), Antetokounmpo 54, Lopez 2 (1/7 shooting, 2 steals, 3 blocks), Beasley 13 (3), Payne 7 (1 3-pointer, 4 rebounds, 5 assists) , Crowder 5 (1), Portis 11 (5/9 2-pointers, 8 rebounds, 2 assists), Connaughton 8 (1), Beauchamp 5 (1), Jackson
Indiana Pacers team stats: 22/44 2-pointers, 20/48 3-pointers, 18/20 shots, 46 rebounds, 27 assists, 6 steals, 6 blocks, 11 turnovers, 25 fouls
Milwaukee Bucks team stats: 37/60 2-pointers, 9/27 3-pointers, 23/26 shots, 48 rebounds, 23 assists, 6 steals, 5 blocks, 14 turnovers, 19 fouls
Tags: Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo scores Indianapolis wild performance leaves defeated
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