The Milwaukee Bucks were unable to close the game strongly as they dropped to 5-3 on the season after a 126-124 road loss against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. It was a tense night as for the second consecutive night, saw someone get ejected as coach Adrian Griffin received a pair of technicals during the third quarter for his first career ejection as a coach.
This game was without point guard Damian Lillard as he was dealing with a calf injury and because of it, Giannis Antetokounmpo had an incredible night. Let’s break down the good and the bad from this loss.
What was good from this Milwaukee Bucks game?
Stop me if you heard this before but Giannis Antetokounmpo had an amazing game. He finished with 54 points, 12 rebounds and three assists while shooting 19-of-25 from the floor and 16-of-18 from the free-throw line. He was able to look like one of the best players on the planet and completely take the game over as he has done in the past.
Another good sign was the Adrian Griffin ejection. He spoke after the Detroit game yesterday and said he had to be better at advocating for his players during the game and did just that. Seeing this team fight back after being down 14 points in the first quarter is something to be happy about as well.
Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin has been ejected. #FearTheDeer | #NBA pic.twitter.com/GPGHFRNYs1
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) November 10, 2023
What was bad about this Milwaukee Bucks game?
There was a lot of ugly things that happened during this game. Outside of Giannis, there was nobody who scored more than 19 points. They were also struggling as no other starter had better than a -5 rating while on the court. Having Brook Lopez score seven points in 30 minutes is also not going to get the job done.

Defensively, the Milwaukee Bucks struggled as Indiana was able to shoot 20-of-48 (41.7 percent) from three while the Bucks were 9-of-27 (33.3 percent). That is a difference of 33 points and obviously, the Damian Lillard injury causes that number to dip but it was not a great look.
With 5:18 remaining in the game, the Bucks held a 117-108 lead and should be able to hold onto that. From that point on, the Pacers went on an 18-7 run to close out the game. That is just simply unacceptable.
What is next on the schedule for the Bucks?
The Bucks will be wrapping up their third game in four days on Saturday as they are on the road to take on the Orlando Magic. This will be a good matchup as this is something the team could build around as there is no star on the Magic team to focus on. It can be a chance to make this Pacers game a blip on the radar and nothing more.
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