INDIANAPOLIS – Trailing by two points at half-time on Jan 3, the Indiana Pacers knew they had to tighten up defensively against the Milwaukee Bucks if they were to ace the latest instalment of their simmering rivalry.
They did just that – keeping the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo on a tight leash – and more. At the other end, they racked up 47 points in the third quarter to turn the game on its head before eventually winning 142-130.
Point guard Tyrese Haliburton led the scoring for the Pacers with 31 points on a night when seven Indiana players posted double-digit tallies for the home side, as they completed back-to-back victories over the 2021 National Basketball Association (NBA) champions.
“Winning is fun, and we’re having fun doing it right now. We’ve got to continue competing at a high level,” Haliburton said. “If we keep getting good shots, good things will happen.”
He said defensive improvements were key to their game-changing third-quarter display, which left Indiana leading by 16 points heading into the fourth period.
“We just had to lock in defensively. We’ve been scoring pretty well against those guys all year, so we had to figure out a way to get some stops, and we were able to do that in the second half,” he added.
Recent encounters between the two sides have seen tempers boil over, and there was a flashpoint in the fourth quarter when Bennedict Mathurin drew a foul from Antetokounmpo that triggered a scuffle between several players from both sides.
Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee’s scorers with 26 points while Damian Lillard added 23 and Khris Middleton 19.
Bucks coach Adrian Griffin rued the third period, which ended with them trailing 113-97.
He said: “That third quarter, and especially how we started the third quarter and gave up 47 points, was tough on us. When you’re playing catch-up, you’ve got to execute... you’ve got to be able to get stops.”
Victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse left the Pacers (19-14) fifth in the Eastern Conference while Milwaukee (24-10) are second, behind the Boston Celtics (26-7).
In Minneapolis, Zion Williamson and C.J. McCollum combined for 51 points as the New Orleans Pelicans upset the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves 117-106.
Pelicans power forward Williamson led the scoring with 27 points as the Timberwolves (24-9), who lost to the New York Knicks on New Year’s Day, suffered consecutive defeats for the first time this season.
Meanwhile, LeBron James was held to 12 points as the visiting Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Lakers 110-96.
Tyler Herro scored 21 points and rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr added 16 points at the Crypto.com Arena for Miami, while Anthony Davis bagged 29 points with 17 rebounds and Austin Reaves added 24 points as the Lakers (17-18) lost their third straight game.
Since winning the NBA in-season tournament in December, the Lakers have struggled with only three wins across nine matches.
In Sacramento, De’Aaron Fox saved five of his 15 points for the second overtime and Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double as the Kings outlasted the visiting Orlando Magic 138-135. Held to 10 points in the first 53 minutes, Fox connected twice from the interior in the second overtime, the final time breaking the game’s last tie with 58.1 seconds left.
In Atlanta, Jalen Johnson scored a career-high 28 points to help the Hawks beat visiting Oklahoma City 141-138, ending the Thunder’s five-game winning streak. REUTERS
