The Milwaukee Bucks were supposed to win their 16th straight home game on Monday night. Instead, they ended up suffering their third loss in four games against the Indiana Pacers this season.
To say that the result of Wednesday’s defeat was disappointing would be an understatement.
Damian Lillard Calls out Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks started strong in this one, finishing the first quarter with a 32-25 advantage over Indiana. This translated to a six-point lead at the break.
The third quarter was a different story, though, with the Pacers ending the period with a furious 17-6 run. The fourth quarter was a battle to the end, but it was Indiana who stepped up their game down the stretch.
After the loss, a disappointed Damian Lillard (13 points on 3-of-16 shooting) got brutally honest with his assessment of his team’s performance on the evening. Dame rued Milwaukee’s missed opportunities and their inability to close out their opponents.
“I was just saying, we had multiple opportunities to extend our lead where we’re up 10, up 12 and then we have a letdown,” Lillard said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “So I was just saying like, ‘Man, this is not a team to play with.’ And I don’t think we were intentionally doing it. But you gotta be able to recognize those things in the middle of the game and handle it, so that you can build that lead and maybe you get it up to 16, 17 and they’re a little more discouraged instead of looking like, ‘Man, we’re right there.’”
As Lillard said, the Pacers are not a team to be messed with, and they proved that yet again on Monday night.
Not Taking Care of Business
Lillard also acknowledged Indiana’s late run and how the Bucks were unable to weather the storm. Dame pointed to a lack of discipline from his team — a key factor that ultimately led to their downfall on Monday night:
“And I think they were able to get a couple of shots to fall,” he continued. “We missed and before you know it, it’s a four-point game and now you’ve got a ballgame. And we stopped making shots. They started making shots. And when you’re not disciplined and sharp and you don’t take care of business in those moments, you can end up in the type of situation we ended up in and against the right team that can get going like they can get going, you can lose a game and we did.”
The silver lining for the Bucks here is that they get a chance to redeem themselves immediately against their Central Division rivals. These two teams go at it again on Wednesday in Indiana in what should be another compelling contest.
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