by Jordan Morey
2024 is off to an electric start for the Indiana Pacers.
In a New Year’s Day clash, the Pacers (18-14) scraped their way to a 122-113 win over the Milwaukee Bucks (24-9) at Fiserv Forum.
Indiana gutted out the Central Division victory, as the Blue & Gold trailed by 15 points twice, shot 44 percent overall from the field, and made just 5 of 35 attempts from 3-point range.
While the Pacers struggled to shoot the ball, they made up for their lack of shotmaking with effort plays and aggression. In the win, the Pacers pulled down a season-best 52 rebounds while also making and taking season-highs in free throws, finishing 31-for-38 from the charity stripe. The Pacers also flexed their depth on the night, outscoring the Milwaukee bench 70-16.
“I just thought we did a lot of things you need to do on the road,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “You need to keep your poise, stay aggressive, and we kept good internal energy and kept believing in each other.”
The Pacers trailed most of the game before besting the Bucks 38-25 in the fourth quarter. The Blue & Gold point guards went to work down the final stretch, with veteran T.J. McConnell logging 12 points in the final frame and All-Star Tyrese Haliburton registering nine points and four rebounds in the fourth quarter.
Indiana is now 3-1 against the Bucks this season — winning the season series for the first time since the 2017-18 season — with one game still to play. Indiana will host Milwaukee on Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in their final matchup of the regular season.
Before Monday, the Bucks were riding a 15-game winning streak at Fiserv Forum.
Six players finished in double-digit scoring for the Pacers. Haliburton logged 26 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, while Bennedict Mathurin put up a strong 25 points and 13 rebounds off the bench for his second double-double of the season. Rounding out the top scoring, Isaiah Jackson had 18 points and nine rebounds, McConnell added 16 total points and nine assists, Myles Turner scored 13 and Obi Toppin logged 11 points for Indiana.
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with a triple-double for the Bucks, his second of the season, by collecting 30 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists, while Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton scored 21 points each.
“We just found a way to win,” McConnell said. “I think we kind of hang our hat on getting a lot of threes up, and when we’re making them we’re pretty tough to beat. When we don’t make them, it’s typically tough for us to win. I just tip my cap to this group. We just found a way to win and adjusted to our cold shooting night and got it done.”
Indiana’s bench kept the score within striking distance in the first half, accounting for 33 points, but the Pacers trailed 62-56 at halftime. Indiana shot just 36 percent in the first half.
Indiana trailed by 15 points twice in the first quarter before closing it to 32-25.
The Blue & Gold went 2-for-10 in the first six minutes of action, and the Bucks took advantage by stringing together a 19-5 run behind seven points each by Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
Thanks to solid play from the second unit, Indiana responded with an 11-3 run in the final 2:32 of the opening frame to make it a seven-point game. Indiana’s bench accounted for 14 of the team’s points in the first 12 minutes.
The Pacers carried their momentum into the second quarter, putting together a 13-5 run on four points by Toppin and Mathurin each to go ahead 38-37 with 8:50 left in the half.
Milwaukee reached the penalty about four minutes into the second quarter, and the Pacers emphasized attacking the rim the rest of the period – a strategy that would play out the remainder of the game.
An 8-0 run, where Jackson accounted for six points, gave the Pacers a 47-41 lead before the Bucks answered with an 8-0 run of their own after Middleton and Lopez each made 3-pointers to put Milwaukee up 49-47 with 4:44 remaining in the half.
The score stayed within a possession until a Pat Connaughton 3-pointer and Antetokounmpo layup gave the Bucks a 62-54 advantage. At the buzzer, Jalen Smith tipped in a 3-point miss from Turner to make it a six-point game.
Out of halftime, Milwaukee used runs of 9-3 and 8-0 to lead 82-67. Indiana then responded with a 17-6 run to close the third quarter to make it 88-84.
Two buckets by Jackson and a finger-roll layup by Mathurin put the Pacers ahead 90-89 with 10 minutes remaining, but Jackson fouled out with 8:21 left.
The game then stayed within two points until back-to-back baskets by Mathurin, a bucket from McConnell, and a jumper from Haliburton pushed the Pacers ahead 105-101 to force a Bucks timeout with 4:52 remaining.
McConnell scored four points out of the huddle, and Haliburton drained a pair of shots from around 18 feet to put the Pacers up 113-104. Haliburton then converted an and-one with 90 seconds left, and the Blue & Gold held on from there.
The Pacers outrebounded the Bucks 52-46 in the game and outscored Milwaukee 64-50 in the paint. Both teams ended up shooting 44 percent overall.
Inside the Numbers
The Pacers were 31-for-38 from the free throw line and the Bucks made 21-of-26 from the charity stripe.
The Pacers matched a season-low five made 3-pointers on Monday. The team is averaging 14 3-pointers made per game this season.
Milwaukee coughed up 11 turnovers and the Pacers had seven giveaways.
Indiana is 15-4 this season when six or more players score in double figures.
Tyrese Haliburton has achieved 24 double-doubles this season.
Haliburton has scored 20 or more points 20 times this season and has logged 10 or more assists 25 times.
Indiana is 8-3 when outrebounding their opponent.
Bennedict Mathurin has scored 20 or more points six times this season.
You Can Quote Me On That
“It’s just a special group of competitors. The guys on our team like each other, they support each other. They compete against each other hard in practice, but when it comes to the games they pat each other on the butt and really encourage each other. They really make it about the team.” – Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on the team
“(T.J.) McConnell was the star of the game to me. I just thought he was brilliant the entire night.” – Carlisle on McConnell
“(Bennedict) Mathurin had a great game. He was a factor all night long, and I thought he showed some real maturity in the second half defensively guarding a really tough guy in (Khris) Middleton, who is a scoring machine.” – Carlisle on Mathurin
“Nights like tonight you’ve got to get a little bit lucky. You’ve got to play hard enough and do enough good things where you get a little lucky with the opponent missing some shots as well.” – Carlisle on the win
“Pretty much just going into the game as myself. Try to keep the game simple, try to make the right plays, and try to help the team win.” – Mathurin on his performance
“We have a lot of depth on the team. We have a lot of players that came big tonight. T.J. had a great game and Tyrese (Haliburton) was just being himself. It was fun seeing the guys taking turns impacting the game.” – Mathurin on the win
“T.J. is known for making big plays, and he’s a winning player.” – Mathurin on McConnell
“It’s always a work in progress. I feel like the team is giving me catch and shoots, so I just need to let it fly. I’m pretty confident in doing it.” – Mathurin on his offensive game
“This locker room is really close, and we’re really tied together. From one to 15 … not only great basketball players, but great human beings as well. Great teammates. When you have that, it’s fun to be a part of.” – McConnell on the Pacers’ locker room
“They punked us the last time we were here. They were more physical, they were the better team. We just wanted to kind of match the physicality. Milwaukee is a great team – you have to match their energy.” – McConnell on the Bucks
Stat of the Night
After shooting 38 percent overall through three quarters, the Pacers made 14 of 21 shots (66.7 percent) in the final frame.
Noteworthy
- Bruce Brown missed a fifth straight game for the Pacers due to a right knee bone bruise.
- Pacers starting guard Andrew Nembhard exited the game during halftime with a sore back and did not return.
Up Next
The Pacers will play their first home game of 2024 when they host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7:00 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com