The Milwaukee Bucks improved to 17-14 on the season following their incredible 120-112 come-from-behind victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday afternoon. Milwaukee got off to a slow start offensively and trailed Indiana 64-53 at halftime. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored just four first half points and Damian Lillard scored zero, having missed his first eight shots from the field.
At one point in the third quarter, the Bucks trailed by 19 points, and it looked like the game had gotten away from them. They could not make their shots; multiple turnovers were committed; Giannis was in foul trouble.
It had all the makings of a game that one would just burn the tape from and quickly move on to the next.
And then they came back.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Led the Milwaukee Bucks to Victory in the Second Half
Giannis, playing in his first game since missing the previous four due to an illness, looked lethargic to start the game. The whole team did. Layups, mid-range shots, three-point attempts, none seemed to be able to find their way through the hoop with any kind of consistency.
It was only Indiana’s carelessness with the ball that kept the Bucks within 11 points at halftime.
When Milwaukee fell behind by 19 points, the players all look defeated. Anyone watching the game might have figured that they were about ready to mail it in.
But out of the ensuing timeout, something changed. Giannis and the Bucks slowly started chipping away. Despite their deficit, the Greek Freak started chirping with Pacers forward Pascal Siakim, and a fire was ignited.
The two-time NBA MVP scored 26 points in the second half, finishing his night with 30 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Lillard only scored nine points, but they came in big moments as the Bucks were either chipping away at their deficit or trying to take the lead. Brook Lopez added 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists while Khris Middleton chipped in 15 points, six rebounds, and seven assists.
Both Bobby Portis and Gary Trent Jr. scored 14 points off of the bench. Portis added 15 rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Credits Doc Rivers for the Milwaukee Bucks Win
After the game, Giannis was asked why he and the rest of the team were able to overcome such a large deficit in the third quarter. His answer, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, was head coach Doc Rivers.
“Doc. Doc. He said the same in thing he said in Brooklyn. Gotta fight through this one,” Giannis began. “Just gotta fight through this one. They’re going to let us back in the game. And, like, when a coach says that, and then you start fighting and you see it goes from 19 to 15. And then it goes to 11. And then it goes to seven. And then it goes…
“It just gives you that dopamine hit. And you’re like, “Okay, fight a little bit more. Fight a little bit more.’ And all of a sudden, you look up and it’s a tie game. And now when you’re there, you’re like, ‘We should just win the game. We’re already here. We should just play a little bit more hard. Two, three more minutes, play good team basketball and win the game.’
“And that’s what we did.”
At this point last season, Milwaukee was being coached by Adrian Griffin and had one of the best records in the NBA. But things were not as good as the record made it seem. Of course, Griffin was fired following a 30-13 start and eventually replaced by Rivers.
This year, the Bucks are 17-14 following a horrendous 2-8 start to the season. But no one in the locker room seems down or frustrated, and they are speaking very highly of their head coach.
Any fans wondering Giannis has a good relationship Doc and stop wondering, and those that want to see Rivers fired may have to wait a long while.
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