INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- The Indiana Pacers had a dominant performance to beat the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night by a score of 123-86. The Pacers improve their overall record to 8-5 on the season, while the Bucks fall to 5-8 on the year. This was easily the best single game performance that the Pacers have had this season. Indiana has now won two consecutive games by at least 27 points, which was largely a result of the Pacers offense scoring a season high 123 points. The Pacers' defense was just as impressive as the team's offense; they truly gave a full 48-minute effort in this win. This was quite the display without George Hill and Myles Turner.

The first quarter was one of the few moments where the Bucks actually had a lead; in fact, it was one of those rare moments when the Bucks weren't getting dominated. C.J. Miles opened the game with a 3-pointer to give the Pacers a 3-0 lead with 11:34 left in the quarter. However, the Bucks got five quick points to take a 5-3 lead with 10:56 left in the opening quarter. Milwaukee led for the rest of the quarter until Lavoy Allen made a hook in the paint which tied the game at 23-23 with 2:31 in the quarter. The Pacers out-scored the Bucks 5-3 down the stretch; Indiana's final basket of a quarter was a Paul George 3-pointer. The quarter ended with the Pacers holding a 28-23 lead.

The Pacers basically led for the entire first half of the second quarter. Milwaukee took their first lead (43-41) of the quarter with 6:11 left in the second quarter. Indiana re-gained the lead and held onto it for the rest of the first half at the 3:33 mark. At that point, Monta Ellis pushed the ball and finished at the hoop to give the Pacers a 46-45 lead. The Pacers held a lead for the rest of this quarter. Indiana out-scored the Bucks 9-6 to hold a 55-51 half-time lead. The Pacers led for the rest of the game from this point on, but they didn't turn on the jets to pull away until the second half.

Indiana gained a double-digit lead with 5:05 left in the third quarter; this was off of another Miles 3-pointer that gave the Pacers a 75-62 lead. From this point on, they held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game. This game got out of hand once Paul George made an off the dribble mid-range jumper at the 3:40 mark, to give the Pacers an 80-64 lead. Indiana went on to out score the Bucks 10-3 to close the quarter, which resulted in a 90-67 lead with just one period remaining. Paul George didn't play after this quarter because the game was already over. The Pacers out-scored the Bucks 33-19 in the final quarter; Indiana held a 20+-point lead for the whole quarter.

Full Game Highlights

The Pacers received a lot of explosive performances from individual players in this game. George led the Pacers with 20 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Despite struggling to shoot the ball (6-17 FG, 3-9 3PT, 5-6 FT) from the field, he managed to give the Pacers an all-around contribution. Miles led the Pacers in scoring with 21 points (7-16 FG, 3-9 3PT, 4-5 FT), while adding one rebound, one assist, and three steals. Jordan Hill was sensational off the bench; he had 21 points (9-10 FG, 2-2 FT), 11 rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block. Glenn Robinson was another key performer off the bench; he had 17 points (6-7 FG, 4-4 3PT, 1-2 FT) and two steals. Ellis too was important for the Pacers with his 12 points (5-9 FG, 1-1 3PT, 1-3 FT), five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block. Chase Budinger also had a good performance with 13 points (5-9 FG, 3-4 3PT), one rebound, three assists, and one steal. Lavoy Allen had a sensational all-around performance with his six points (3-7 FG), eight rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block. Rodney Stuckey made quality contributions despite struggling to shoot he ball, as he had seven points (3-9 FG, 0-2 3PT, 1-4 FT), two rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block. Ian Mahinmi struggled, as he only added four points (2-6 FG, 0-1 FT), seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block.

Paul George Highlights

Indiana held advantages in the following statistical areas; points (123-to-86), assists (28-to-19), steals (15-to-9), turnovers (14-to-23), points off turnovers (29-to-24), overall shooting efficiency (51.6 percent-to-43.0 percent), perimeter shooting efficiency (50.0 percent-to-29.4 percent), fast break points (21-to-10), defensive rebounds (31-to-30), and free throws made (14-to-13). Indiana had the same numbers in the following areas; points in the paint (50-to-50) and blocks (5-to-5). Milwaukee held advantages in the following areas; free throw efficiency (68.4 percent-to-60.9 percent), total rebounds (43-to-42), and offensive rebounds (13-to-11).

Things are looking good for the Pacers. Indiana currently has the 4th best record in the Eastern Conference; meanwhile, Milwaukee is 13th in the East. The next game for the Pacers is against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday (November 24th).

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Grant Afseth
Indianapolis sports fan living in Dallas, Texas.