The Milwaukee Bucks are riding high after picking up their seventh straight victory after throttling the Indiana Pacers 140-113 Monday night at Fiserv Forum.
Granted, the meeting between the two central division rivals came without significant pieces on both sides with the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner being sidelined due to various injuries.
More from Bucks News
- Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
- Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
Clearly, the Bucks got on the better side of things without Antetokounmpo as they rattled off one of their most complete performances on the season, which then led to one of the biggest victories.
So without further ado, let’s explore what all stood out from the Milwaukee Bucks’ big win over the Indiana Pacers Monday night.
First takeaway from win over Pacers — No Giannis, no problem for Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks entered the night knowing they wouldn’t be without their superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was sidelined with a left knee sprain. Fortunately, it didn’t look to bother him as he enjoyed plenty of celebrations on and around the bench and the Bucks sure showed they can soldier on without the reigning MVP.
That was certainly helped by the Bucks enjoying a 48-point first quarter, which obviously marked a season-high for a quarter this season.
Filling in for Antetokounmpo in the starting lineup was Pat Connaughton and he enjoyed the nod in the starting five. In his 33 minutes on the court, Connaughton matched his season-high of 20 points while hitting a season-high six triples, along with nine rebounds and two assists.
Connaughton was just one of six Bucks players to finish in double figures, which further spoke to the complete nature of the Bucks’ showing last night. All without their singular superstar.
Second takeaway from win over Pacers — Milwaukee Bucks light it up from 3-point range
Milwaukee’ sterling offensive performance was certainly helped out by another staggering 3-point shooting display as they went 24-for-39 from downtown last night, good for 61.5 percent.
That’s the second-highest amount of threes the Bucks have made in a single game this season, which follows the NBA-record 29 threes they hit against the Miami Heat early in their schedule. The efficient nature of their shooting display set a different kind of record Monday night, courtesy of Tony East from Forbes.
The Bucks just became the first team in NBA history to hit 24+ threes on fewer than 40 attempts.
— Tony East (@TonyREast) March 23, 2021
Certainly having a lights out performance from Connaughton helped the Bucks in this regard and the same goes for Khris Middleton going 4-for-6 from deep as he finished with 25 points on the night.
In total, seven Bucks players hit at least one or more threes for the night and they had their third-highest offensive rating for a game this season, per NBA.com/stats. This now marks the seventh outing in which the Bucks have hit 20 or more triples in a game this season.
The ironic thing about the Bucks’ win streak is that they have increasingly squeezed out wins as their shooting had fallen into a cold spell. It’s safe to say they broke out of that mini-slump last night and Bucks fans will continue to hope for such blistering shooting displays.
Third takeaway from win over Pacers — Jrue Holiday puts in starring performance for Milwaukee Bucks
As the Bucks put their best foot forward offensively against Indiana, it was star guard Jrue Holiday that was pulling the strings all night long.
From the opening jump, Holiday was locked in and was entrusted with more ball handling responsibilities with Antetokounmpo out. That, in turn, led to the veteran guard enjoying his best night in a Bucks uniform as he set season-highs in points, assists and made field goals while shooting the ball very efficiently from beyond the arc.
Holiday’s crisp and level-headed playmaking played a huge part in the Bucks having 35 assists on their 53 made field goals, which is the second-highest amount of assists the Bucks have had in a game this year. On the other side of the ball, Holiday was locked into his defensive brilliance early on as his active hands and incredible foot speed made for a rough night for a number of Pacers ball handlers, including Holiday’s younger brother, Aaron.
All in all, Holiday finished with 28 points on 11-for-15 shooting (5-for-6 from three), 14 assists, five rebounds, two steals as well as two turnovers and a block in over 29-and-a-half minutes of action.
While he’s largely played a complementary role throughout the season when the Bucks, it’s performances like these where we see why Holiday can be such a difference maker when it matters most. And more looks on the ball for Holiday could be the way to unlock the Bucks even further.
The Bucks will look to pick up their eighth straight victory when they host the Boston Celtics at Fiserv Forum Wednesday night.