The Milwaukee Bucks pride themselves on their defense, especially inside the paint. Wednesday night, they seemed disinterested in defending the lane in a 118-111 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Pacers hit 21 of 30 (70%) two-point shots in the first half. T.J. Warren poured in a game-high 35 points to lead the Pacers. He hit 16 of 19 from the field, including 15 of 17 on two point attempts.
The Bucks once again, played without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who stayed back in Milwaukee after the birth of his son. But the Bucks had been 5-0 in previous games without Giannis.
But this time, the Bucks were out of sorts on the offensive end as well and trailed the Pacers 68-45 at halftime.
Milwaukee did come out in the second half, like they’ve done so often this season and got things rolling. The Bucks held the Pacers to just 14 points in the third quarter and closed to within 11 points after three.
The Bucks eventually climbed to within four points in the fourth before the Pacers woke up again and rallied for the win.
Donte DiVincenzo led the Bucks with 19 points and Khris Middleton added 17 in the loss.
The Bucks head into the all-star break with the NBA’s best record at 46-8. They’ll return to action on February 20th at Detroit against the Pistons.