Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 118-111 loss to Indiana Pacers
By Adam McGee
Never give up
The first half on Wednesday night was undoubtedly one of the worst Bucks’ performances in recent memory, and probably the worst that we’ve seen under Mike Budenholzer.
Facing a 23-point deficit at the break, the Bucks clearly had something of an awakening at half time, coming out of the blocks in the third quarter with much greater purpose and, crucially, much improved defense.
Having been down by as much as 25 points, the fact that the Bucks managed to get back to within four points to start the fourth quarter is something that deserves great credit, in spite of the fact the comeback effort ultimately came up short.
Even after the Pacers rallied to regain a very comfortable lead in response to Milwaukee’s early fourth quarter surge, the Bucks did come back again to make one final run that was only cut short by the final buzzer.
The Bucks haven’t found themselves down by over 20 points all that often, and the fact that in the final game before the All-Star break, without Giannis Antetokounmpo, George Hill, and Kyle Korver, that they still had the fortitude to keep fighting and demonstrate their character was very impressive.