Another chance to lock down a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs passed by as the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Indiana Pacers 104-89 on Thursday night in Indianapolis.
The Pacers (39-40), moved to within a game of the Bucks, who are in the six spot in the Eastern Conference race. The Bucks (40-39) trail Atlanta (40-38) by a half game for the fifth spot in the East. Chicago (39-40) is also just a game behind the Bucks, tied with Indiana. The Bucks have tie breaker advantages over both teams.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points, seven rebounds and six steals and Mirza Teletovic added 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting from three-point range.
The Bucks committed 21 turnovers, which led to 29 points for the Pacers.
It’s the third straight loss for the Bucks, who will wrap up their three-game road trip at Philadelphia on Saturday night. They’ll host Charlotte on Monday night and finish the regular season at Boston on Wednesday.
Philadelphia and Charlotte are both very winnable games and at this point, the Bucks need to win at least one of those games and maybe both to lock down a spot in the post season.