Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 54 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but it was not enough for the Milwaukee Bucks, who lost 126-124 to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday in Indianapolis.
The Pacers were led by Tyrese Haliburton’s 29 points and 10 assists. Bennedict Mathurin added 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Myles Turner scored 21 and grabbed six rebounds. It was the fifth game in a row the Pacers scored over 120 points.
It was the seventh time in Antetokounmpo’s career that he scored at least 50 points in a regular-season game. Khris Middleton also chipped in 19 and Malik Beasley added 13. The Bucks were missing Damian Lillard, who has a calf injury.
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The Pacers jumped out to a strong start, leading 27-9 on Haliburton’s 3-pointer with 4:55 left in the first quarter. Indiana hit 8 of 16 attempts from beyond the arc in the first quarter to take a 38-24 lead.
The Bucks answered quickly, going on an 11-2 run to start the second quarter. They eventually cut the deficit to 66-60 heading into halftime.
Antetokounmpo had 26 points in the first half.
Antetokounmpo scored nine consecutive points for the Bucks to open the second half. But Indiana kept it close, shooting nearly 41.7 percent from beyond the arc in the game.
Despite his dominance, Antetokounmpo committed back-to-back turnovers with just over a minute to go, giving Indiana the opportunity to take the lead and extend it at the free-throw line.
With the Pacers then up by three, Middleton missed an open 3-pointer, sealing the loss for the Bucks.
The Pacers, who ended a 10-game, head-to-head losing streak against the Bucks last season, have won the first of four meetings with Milwaukee this season.
Dejounte Murray, Hawks sinks Magic in last minute
Dejounte Murray swished a 3-pointer from the left corner with 31 seconds left to give the Atlanta Hawks a 120-119 victory over the Orlando Magic on Thursday night in Mexico City.
Atlanta’s Trae Young scored 33 of his 41 points in the first half, and his eighth assist of the night came on Murray’s decisive shot. Young made five 3-pointers and also collected five rebounds.
Jalen Johnson recorded 19 points and nine rebounds, Murray scored 16 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 15 as the Hawks won for the fifth time in six games. De’Andre Hunter added 12 as Atlanta defeated the Magic for the 10th time in the past 12 meetings.
Jalen Suggs had 21 points and a career-high six steals while Paolo Banchero scored 17 points for Orlando. Banchero missed a potential winning 3-pointer with seven seconds to go.
Markelle Fultz and Moritz Wagner had 13 points apiece for the Magic, while Goga Bitadze, Jonathan Isaac and Franz Wagner each scored 12.
Orlando shot 46.7 percent from the field, including 10 of 27 (37 percent) from 3-point range, while losing for the fourth time in six games.
Atlanta made 48.2 percent of its field-goal attempts and was 15 of 39 (38.5 percent) from behind the arc. Clint Capela grabbed 11 rebounds for the Hawks.
The Magic led 98-93 entering the fourth quarter. Moritz Wagner scored eight points while Orlando tallied 13 of the first 20 of the quarter to increase its lead to 11 with 8:13 remaining.
The Hawks responded with a 14-2 surge and took a 114-113 lead on Johnson’s layup with 4:04 to play.
Later in the period, Franz Wagner’s driving hoop with 42 seconds remaining gave Orlando a 119-117 lead.
Young achieved a season high for points before the first half was even complete. He scored 12 points in the first quarter before tallying 21 in the second, and Atlanta held a 73-69 halftime edge.
Suggs recorded 16 points and four steals in the half for Orlando.
Young went cold in the third quarter, hitting just 1 of 7 shots while scoring two points.
The Magic trailed by six before going on a 15-2 run. Anthony made four consecutive free throws to cap the run and give Orlando a 95-88 lead with 1:52 remaining in the third.
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