Jim Owczarski on the Bucks' loss to Indiana in the in-season tournament
Jim Owczarski describes his impressions of the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas during their in-season tournament loss to Indiana
Giannis Antetokounmpo broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record with a three-pointer. It seemed fitting that he broke Michael Redd's single-game scoring record with two textbook free throws.
The 29-year-old Bucks superstar said Monday night after the game against Chicago that he might have to “make something happen” against Indiana on Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum.
He ever did.
The 7-footer broke Redd's 17-year-old single-game points record with 64 in a 140-126 win over Indiana by making 20 of his 28 shots and 24 of his 32 free throws. He tied the record with a layup but missed the free throw. He was then sent to the finish line by Indiana freshman Jarace Walker at 3 minutes, 25 seconds and scored both goals to set the mark.
Box score: Bucks 140, Pacers 126
More: The best single-game scoring performances in Bucks history, including 64 by Giannis on Wednesday
Redd scored 57 points against Utah on November 11, 2006. In that game, Redd was 6-for-12 from behind the three-point line. Antetokounmpo was 0-for-3 from deep against Indiana.
Redd also knew this day would come.
After a game in 2021, he joked with Antetokounmpo in the tunnel that he would own that mark one day.
“Oh yeah, he’ll get it,” Redd said later. “He’ll get that. That's what I meant that night. We joked about it, I said I had a lucky night and he said, “I want to be lucky too.”
Antetokounmpo also surpassed 17,000 career points that night, becoming only the 100th NBA player to do so. He was assisted on that basket by Khris Middleton — who last month passed Redd as the No. 5 scorer in Bucks history.
“It feels great,” Redd said of the pair passing. “I have known her since she was a child and try to be there for her in every way possible. For them it feels good to throw away these numbers and things. You will pass all my records. And I want them to do it. I want them to do it. Every generation should want the next generation to surpass them and that’s what I want.”
While not many teams have had a solution for Antetokounmpo on defense since he emerged as one of the NBA's best players, the Pacers in particular have had a tough time over the last four seasons.
In his last 10 games against Indiana (dated February 3, 2021), Antetokounmpo averaged 36.2 points on 69.1% shooting. And he had already recorded two 50-point regular season games, including 50 at Milwaukee on Feb. 15, 2022 and 54 at Indiana on Nov. 9.
Antetokounmpo's dominance over his division rival continued Wednesday night.
“He’s a low-key force of nature in this game,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said before the game. “There has never been a player like him. We're talking about Dame (Lillard and his three-point shooting), he's at an extreme and Giannis says… I don't even know. If someone had tried to describe to me 10 years ago a 7-foot-tall guy doing what he does, I would have just looked at them like they were crazy. How will this all happen? But it happened.”
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Carlisle caught all of its starters and Antetokounmpo with 51 points with just under six minutes left in regulation, but Adrian Griffin maintained his lead, allowing Antetokounmpo to aim for the record.
Just before reaching the finish, he took a very hard fall and needed a moment to flex his hips. He also seemed to favor his team on the subsequent free throws.
Griffin then withdrew his starters, but the Pacers backups quickly made it a 10-point game and all of the Bucks' starters had to return for the final two minutes. In that time, Antetokounmpo only increased his historic total to secure the victory, punctuating it with a breakaway dunk, a chest pound and a nasty punch.
The Bucks finally keep the Pacers out
The Bucks have struggled with their transition defense all season, with an early problem arising from the team's initial emphasis on offensive rebounding. But time has shown they're not particularly good at it – the team ranked 26th in the league in that category – so the focus has been on getting the defense back into shape when the shot goes up.
Indiana points out that more than most teams, and even the Bucks, were caught moving too slowly away from the baskets in their win in Las Vegas.
The Pacers also took advantage of the Bucks on Las Vegas' offense, especially late in the game. Indiana scored 15 offensive rebounds and 23 second-chance points in this win (up from nine for 14 on November 9).
Unfortunately for Milwaukee, talking about this issue didn't immediately translate into fixing it on the court in the first half, as the Pacers scored 14 of their 63 first-half points off 12 offensive rebounds. The extra effort helped them stay in the game as they shot just 21% from behind the three-point line and 42% overall.
But if there was a positive sign, it was that Indiana didn't concede another offensive board in the final 7 minutes and 28 seconds of the first half – and perhaps not coincidentally, the Bucks extended their three-point lead to as many as 12.
In fact, Indiana didn't score another second-chance point until late in the third quarter, a period during which the lead grew to as many as 16.
It was a pivotal point in the game that allowed the Bucks to finally get their first win over Indiana this season.
4 numbers
6 Blocked shots for Bucks center Brook Lopez, giving him five games with five or more blocks, the most in the league. He entered the game leading the league in blocks per game and total blocks.
11 Direct home wins for the Bucks. They are 12-1 at Fiserv Forum this season.
258.5 The pregame over/under total exceeded the in-season tournament game total by a full point – the highest total since 1991, according to ESPN. Indiana came into the game with a league-best 10 games scored at least 130 points the Bucks were No. 2 with eight.
100 Among the players in NBA history to score at least 17,000 points is Giannis Antetokounmpo with his 47th point against the Pacers – a powerful layup with 6:26 to play. Only nine other active players have reached this milestone, including teammate Damian Lillard. It was also fitting that Khris Middleton, Antetokounmpo's long-time running mate, assisted.