3 takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks’ commanding win over Indiana Pacers
By Dalton Sell
The big news of the day for the Milwaukee Bucks was that they had signed DeMarcus Cousins to a non-guaranteed deal Sunday afternoon. While fans were sharing their thoughts on the move, a game between the Bucks and the Indiana Pacers was set to be played shortly after. It was a good all-around day for the Bucks as not only did they bring in a solid center to help add depth, but they also have officially won seven straight games after last night’s big victory over the Pacers.
It was relatively close throughout the first half as the Bucks led by just five points at the break, but they used a big third quarter to pull away as they outscored the Pacers 39-27 in the period. Those 12 minutes helped the Bucks secure a 118-100 win and keep the momentum rolling as they have found their swagger as of late. With all that being said, let us take a closer look at three of the big takeaways from last night’s meeting with the rivaling Pacers.
The Milwaukee Bucks dominate the paint, limit Indiana Pacers’ one-two punch in the frontcourt
A massive reason why the Bucks have been trending up lately has been their ability to not only defend the paint defensively but to attack it offensively as well. They faced a tall task doing that against this Pacers team that has a lethal tandem in the frontcourt with Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner. However, the Bucks made it look like light work as they dominated on both sides of the basketball in the win.
Offensively, the Bucks won the battle down low by scoring 62 points in the paint, compared to a mere 36 by the Pacers. Of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo played a major factor in this onslaught down low as he scored 26 points in the win. The Greek Freak shot a highly-efficient 10-of-13 from inside the arc, imposing his will from start to finish. Antetokounmpo got some much-needed help with this scoring barrage down low from his teammates, but more on that in a moment.
Defensively, the Bucks were fantastic in protecting the hoop, which continues to be impressive without starting center Brook Lopez. Specifically, they did a sensational job of limiting Sabonis and Turner from start to finish. Sabonis shot a brutal 1-of-6 from 2-point range and scored four points in the game, while it was not much better from Turner as he scored two points on just one shot attempt from inside the arc. It was great work from the Bucks to keep these two in check.