A devastating defeat for the Milwaukee Bucks at the hands of the Indiana Pacers was compounded by them showing the worst of themselves.
Indiana ran out 115-114 winners after a Tyrese Haliburton 4-point play in the dying seconds resulted in the Bucks losing their third straight game. The foul by Giannis Antetokounmpo on the final play summed up the overall performance, but it wasn't just that moment where the Bucks were lacking.
Perhaps the most appalling stat of the night was the Pacers scoring 31 fastbreak points to Milwaukee's three. That disparity against any team is ridiculous, and in a game where there is a bit of rivalry between the teams, one took advantage of their strengths while the other just slumped.
This Bucks team is good, not great, and Tuesday night showed why
We can talk about that Haliburton play at the end all we want, and it is poor from Giannis.
Even if it didn't go in, the Pacers get three free throws in a 3-point game, you simply cannot foul there. Milwaukee still had a chance afterwards to win the game, but Doc Rivers challenged the call unsuccessfully and lost the timeout, which resulted in settling for a Giannis three with 3.4 seconds left in the game.
In a few seconds, a plethora of bad decisions were made, and these types of mistakes are stopping the Milwaukee Bucks from closing the gap with the top three out East.
Great teams don't turn the ball over, and the Bucks lost the turnover battle 15-9. Six more turnovers are six more possessions for the opponents, and come playoff time, every possession counts.
Taking care of the ball is something the Bucks have needed to do better as they sit ninth in the league with 13.8 per game. It doesn't seem too bad, but the Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks are the top four. The top contenders take care of the ball, and the Milwaukee Bucks need to be smarter with it.
What makes the turnovers more infuriating is the Bucks actually won the rebound and assist battle. In their recent loss to the Cavaliers, the first seed showed the Bucks how to score by committee. The Bucks followed suit, but it was the sloppy turnovers and poor shots that were taken that meant they shot themselves in the foot.
It was a strange night in general against Indiana, as Giannis finished with 19 points and Damian Lillard finished with 15 on a poor 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) shooting. Taurean Prince scored 18 points and shot pretty well, 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) and 4-for-8 (50 percent) from deep.
Do the Bucks need the role players to help? Yes! Should Taurean Prince be the one asked to take over offensively? Probably not. Now this isn't down to him, as other players weren't adding on offense, but he plays his best on this team off the ball and hitting open jumpers off the catch. Milwaukee shouldn't be asking him to suddenly be a 3-level scorer like Khris Middleton was.
Some of this is down to the inconsistency of the likes of Bucks newcomer Kevin Porter Jr. and the slump AJ Green seems to find himself in. Prince shouldn't be knocked for his performance, but he also shouldn't be taking 16 shots on this Milwaukee Bucks team.
It is such a frustrating time with this Bucks team. A great run off of All-Star break has come crashing down to earth after three straight defeats, all of which were self-inflicting. They face an absolute gauntlet for the remainder of the season and need to show they are contenders to make sure they clinch home court advantage in the NBA Playoffs.
Indiana has found their form, and they play the Bucks again on Saturday. We know the Pacers will be up for it. It's up to the Milwaukee Bucks to show they belong in the contenders conversation.
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