[ad_1]
LAS VEGAS – The Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers played down to the wire in a back-and-forth scoring contest at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as the Pacers advanced to the In -Season Tournament final with 128-. 119 wins.
Thursday’s semifinal saw each team’s regular season record count, as the Bucks fell to 15-7 on the season and the Pacers moved to 12. -8.
The Pacers will face New Orleans or the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday for the right to lift the NBA Cup. That game will not count toward the regular season. The Bucks return home to play Chicago on Monday.
The Bucks fell behind by as many as 12 points in the first half and then stormed back to take advantage in the fourth quarter to set up an impressive third quarter. four where the Pacers attacked the offensive glass to slow the Bucks down.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 37 points on 13 of 19 shooting. He also made 11 of his 13 free throws and pulled down 10 rebounds.
EYE BOX: Pacers 128, Bucks 119
Damian Lillard added 24 while Khris Middleton (20) and Brook Lopez (18) also reached double figures. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, the rest of the team only scored 20 points.
Oshkosh’s Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 27 points and 15 assists, and he provided the dagger with 48 seconds left when he sank a layup. three to give his team a 122-114 lead. Myles Turner (26), Obi Toppin (14), Isaiah Jackson (11) and Bruce Brown (10) also reached double figures for Indiana.
Ring plays the key for the Bucks
The Bucks were nearly flawless in the first quarter, committing just two fouls and one turnover. That changed dramatically in the second quarter, when he committed six more fouls and was called for eight fouls as the Pacers took a 29-27 lead into the first quarter. lead 56-44 with 3:09 left in the first half.
The Bucks came back from that deficit in the third quarter where, you guessed it, they didn’t turn the ball over or commit a single foul in the first 7-plus minutes of the game. age group During a 21-5 run in the third, which gave the Bucks a 78-72 lead, they forced their own shots and got to the free throw line.
Indiana then regained the lead early in the fourth quarter thanks to three of the Bucks’ first turnovers and a three-point play that went to four after a layup. Bucks guard Cameron Payne was fouled with a technical foul. Then the Bucks won by 113-110 points with 3 minutes remaining, but the Pacers turned the baskets twice.
The Bucks have wanted to play hard on defense throughout the season but the reduction in their offense was the emphasis and the purity of their play against the Pacers helped dictate the outcome.
Did you notice?
The Bucks and Pacers played the game under the stadium lights, with the lights focused on the red and blue court. Only three NBA arenas use that light for their regular contests (Barclays Center, Madison Square Garden, Crypto.com Arena for Los Angeles Lakers games).
There are five numbers
7 Lillard missed consecutive free throws to open the game. He went 7 for 13 after that and finished with 24 points, including 16 in the third quarter.
11-4 The Bucks record when the Big Three of Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Lillard play together.
43 points in the third quarter by the Bucks, a season high. They took their first lead at 36 against the Knicks on Tuesday.
257.5 The pregame over/under for the Bucks-Pacers game, which ESPN cited as the largest ever combined the number of predictions since 1991. The Pacers entered the game as the No. 1 scoring team in the league and the Bucks were No. 3.
1992 The last time the NBA played a regular season game in Las Vegas (Portland vs. Los Angeles Lakers). Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also broke Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time scoring streak in Las Vegas, set in 1984 when the Lakers played the Utah Jazz in the city.
