Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished nine assists, Khris Middleton added 27 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks held on for a 119-109 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night in Indianapolis.
An 11-2 run that sent Milwaukee into halftime and extended into the early third quarter gave the Bucks a double-digit-point lead for most of the second half. The gap grew to as many as 18 points.
Milwaukee capitalized on 19 Indiana turnovers, converting them into 22 points. That made a key difference with the Pacers getting only six points off the Bucks’ 14 turnovers.
Indiana fought back in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to as few as five points, fueled by an 11-1 scoring run over 3:50.
Domantas Sabonis scored six of his 21 points during the run, and rookie Chris Duarte added the other five. Monday marked the third time in four games on the season Sabonis has recorded a double-double, grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.
Duarte continued his strong start to his first season, finishing with 18 points. He has scored at least 15 in each of his first four professional games.
Former Buck Malcolm Brogdon led the Pacers with 25 points.
Justin Holiday scored three of his 12 points off one of Brogdon’s team-high seven assists with 6:21 remaining, pulling Indiana within its closest deficit since the third quarter. Milwaukee responded with a 7-1 run that effectively put the game away.
Pat Connaughton, who scored 13 points off the bench, hit one of his three 3-pointers during the decisive final run. Grayson Allen added a layup over that stretch.
Allen hit four 3-pointers and scored 19 points.
With the win, Milwaukee closed out its three-game road swing with a winning record despite dropping the first game in Miami. Indiana fell to 0-3 in games this season in which it has allowed 100-plus points.
(Reuters)
