The Milwaukee Bucks look set for the postseason.
Jrue Holiday exploded for a career-high 51 points along with eight rebounds and eight assists against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. Giannis Antetokounmpo hit a triple-double with 38 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists as the Bucks drove to a 149-136 win.
The performance wasn’t the highest of the NBA season. That honor goes to the Sacramento Kings, who teamed with the Los Angeles Clippers for the second highest game in NBA history with a 176-175 win in February. This result required double overtime.
The Bucks did all their damage against the Pacers in regulation. They’ve also done it without All-Star Khris Middleton, who played the first game of a back-to-back to deal with the knee injury that cost him part of the regular season. They instead got 21 points, eight rebounds and three blocks from Brook Lopez, who continues to blossom with a bigger role in his fifth season in Milwaukee.
Jrue Holiday scored a career-high 51 against Indiana on Wednesday. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Portal)
The win continues a hot stretch for the Bucks, who have gone 25-4 since Jan. 23 to improve to 55-21 and take control of first place in the East. With Wednesday’s win, they extended their lead over second-placed Boston Celtics to three games, with six games remaining on their regular-season roster.
They expect to improve as three-time All-Star Middleton continues to rev up after just 30 games in the regular season. The Bucks were fine without him on Wednesday.
Holiday did most of the damage in lane, where he scored 30 of his 51 points. He shot 20 of 30 from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range. He did it all in 32 minutes. Antetokounmpo also took 32 minutes to post his line, which included a 14 of 18 effort from the ground.
The Bucks face a tough test against their closest Eastern Conference rivals with a game Thursday against the Celtics and a game Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers.