Bucks lose again
Milwaukee loses at home to Indiana, 103-96, suffering its fourth straight defeat.
With one game separating them in the Eastern Conference playoff standings and each needing a win to regain stability after recent losses, the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers knew the importance of Friday night’s game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
What resulted was a scrappy, chippy game that included five technical fouls in the first quarter alone. The physicality was high and verbal barbs flew as the two teams slugged it out — not literally, but a double-technical situation involving Sterling Brown and Lance Stephenson came close — in the first half.
Things settled down after the half, mostly because the game stopped being competitive during a stretch from the third quarter until late in the fourth. The Bucks fell into an offensive malaise midway through the third and were never able to recover, ultimately falling behind by as many as 17 on the way to a 103-96 loss, their fourth straight defeat and fourth in a row at the Bradley Center dating to the final game before the all-star break.
With seven minutes left in the third quarter, the Bucks led, 58-53. Over the next 3 1/2 minutes, they went 0 for 5 from the field with a pair
of turnovers as the Pacers went on a 14-1 run to take over for good.
“The pick-and-roll, middle of the floor was really causing us problems,” Bucks coach Joe Prunty said of the third quarter. “Made some adjustments and it took us a little bit to get those adjustments, get our assignments right there. Then on the other end of the floor, the ball wasn’t moving as freely.
“I’m not saying one thing leads to another, but they compound everything because if you’re not scoring and they’re scoring — I don’t want to say all easy baskets — but if they’re getting it to the rim then it becomes more difficult.”
For as poorly as they played to dig themselves into their 17-point hole, the Bucks refused to pack it in. The Bucks went on a tear following a Domantas Sabonis layup with 6 minutes 34 seconds remaining that put the Pacers ahead, 93-76.
Khris Middleton, who had a teamhigh 30 points, stroked a threepointer, Giannis Antetokounmpo hit a pair of free throws, Middleton added a floater, Eric Bledsoe nailed a three-pointer and Antetokounmpo added another pair of free throws to give Milwaukee a 12-0 run. In between each of those scoring plays was a Pacers turnover as the Bucks turned things up a notch on defense.
The run could have kept going, as Bledsoe blocked a shot then pushed ahead for a fast break. He threw a lob to Antetokounmpo but the two couldn’t connect. At the other end, Pacers all-star Victor Oladipo knocked down a three-pointer that put Indiana back ahead by eight with 3 minutes 19 seconds left and quieted the rejuvenated Bradley Center crowd.
Down four with under a minute left, the Bucks got a needed stop. The ball moved around to Antetokounmpo, who decided to loft up a threepointer from the wing. He’d already made two of those in the game and had a good look. This time, though, he was way off the mark, throwing up an airball that all but sealed the loss with 30.2 seconds left. Indiana made 5 of its 6 free throws after that.
“We continued to battle, we fought back, we gave ourselves an opportunity, which I love that part of it,” Prunty said. “There’s grit to the team that’s going to keep fighting, so that part we know.”
Antetokounmpo finished with 24 points on 6 of 18 shooting, going 2 of 9 after halftime including missing all five of his shots in the third quarter.
The Bucks’ difficult stretch will continue with a tough back-to-back with the Philadelphia 76ers coming to town on Sunday night before the Bucks close out their season series with the Pacers on Monday night in Indianapolis.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Moving on: The Bucks waived guard Sean Kilpatrick on Thursday night, a move that opened up a roster spot that is expected to be taken by Shabazz Muhammad — who was bought out by the Minnesota Timberwolves — as soon as Saturday.
Prunty only had glowing praise for Kilpatrick, who appeared in 23 games after joining the franchise in December.
“Sean’s been great,” Prunty said. “I’ve had experiences with him in the past. He was a true professional here. Worked very hard. Came in every day to try to make himself better and the team better. I’m proud of what he did.”
Old dog, new trick: Jason Terry, the Bucks’ 40-year-old guard, got the start with Tony Snell missing his second successive game due to a right thigh bruise. Playing in his 1,390th game, Terry tied a career high with three blocked shots and scored six points in 36 minutes.
UP NEXT
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (33-29) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (34-27). When: 7 p.m. Sunday.
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center. About the 76ers: Philadelphia has been one of the hottest teams in the NBA over the past month, winning 9 of 11 games since Feb. 6. All-star center Joel Embiid and rookie of the year front-runner Ben Simmons have led the charge during that stretch, with Embiid averaging over 24 points and 12 rebounds per game while Simmons has hovered close to a triple-double. The 76ers cruised past the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, 110-99.