Khris Middleton turned in another impressive effort on Monday night for the Milwaukee Bucks. The three-time All-Star was extremely efficient from the field against the Indiana Pacers, scoring 21 points on 9-of-13 shots. He also logged three rebounds, six assists, a steal, and two three-pointers in his 32 minutes on the floor.
In the end, however, Middleton’s strong game performance was wasted as the Bucks lost out to their Central Division foes at the Fiserv Forum, 122-113.
Khris Middleton Reacts to Milwaukee Bucks’ Loss
The Pacers came into the game with a clear game plan, and that was to collapse on Giannis Antetokounmpo on the defensive end. Indiana bombarded the former back-to-back MVP with double teams and help defense — a tactic that the rest of the Bucks players on the floor were unable to take advantage of.
“In stretches, we did well. In that fourth quarter, we didn’t do well,” Middleton said of Indiana’s choking defense on Antetokounmpo (ht/ Eric Nehm of The Athletic). “We were a little bit off, got a couple of shots, but miscommunication on some stuff, spacing was bad on a couple, so we have to clean that up for Wednesday.”
Giannis still ended up scoring a game-high 30 points on 11-of-20 from the floor, but much like Middleton’s noteworthy effort, Antetokounmpo’s heroics were all for nothing as it was the Bucks who came home with a tough L.
Middleton Looking Forward to Upcoming Stretch
Middleton then rallied the troops ahead of what is going to be another taxing stretch for Milwaukee. They travel to Indiana on Wednesday for a rematch against the Pacers before heading to San Antonio to face the Spurs the following night.
“Christmas was a long trip, so we found ourselves a little bit,” Middleton said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “So we have to do the same thing. We have to bounce back from this game, we’ll see Indy again, which will be a tough matchup. It starts with that. Then we have San Antonio and Houston, one team that hasn’t been too great and one team that’s trying to find themselves also.
“We’ve got to play well on the road if we want to do what we want to do.”
It is worth noting, however, that Middleton has been listed as questionable to play against Indiana on Wednesday due to right knee injury management and a sprained left wrist. It’s now very much possible that he ends up being forced to watch his team from the sidelines as they attempt to exact some revenge on Tyrese Haliburton and Co.
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