Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his second triple-double of the season with 37 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists as the Milwaukee Bucks led from start to finish in a 129-117 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night in an NBA Cup game.
Damian Lillard also contributed with 24 points and 12 assists, earning his third consecutive double-double to help Milwaukee secure its third straight win. The Bucks have now won five of their last six games after starting the season 2-8.
Six players scored in double figures for the Bucks, including Gary Trent Jr. with 18 points, Bobby Portis with 17, Taurean Prince with 13, and Brook Lopez with 11.
Indiana trailed by as much as 25 points in the third quarter and lost for the fifth time in its last six games. The Pacers struggled with their 3-point shooting, making just 11 of 34 attempts (32.4 percent), and fell to 0-2 in the NBA Cup.
Starting the fourth quarter down 93-79, Indiana went on a 16-3 run to bring the score to 108-102 with 5:52 left. However, Milwaukee held on and improved to 2-0 in the NBA Cup.
Antetokounmpo achieved his 47th career triple-double, and the Bucks shot 53.3 percent from the field and 17 of 36 (47.2 percent) from 3-point range.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 25 points. Bennedict Mathurin added 20 points, nine rebounds, and three steals, Tyrese Haliburton had 18 points and nine assists, Myles Turner scored 15 points, and T.J. McConnell contributed 12 points and eight assists off the bench.
Milwaukee started strong, scoring the game’s first 10 points and leading 34-22 at the end of the first quarter. Antetokounmpo had 13 points in the opening period.
Obi Toppin scored for Indiana with 1:18 left in the second quarter to make it 48-44, but the Bucks finished the half on a 10-0 run to lead 58-44.
Indiana struggled with shooting, making only 38.1 percent of their shots from the field and 26.7 percent (4 of 15) from beyond the arc in the first half. Portis led all scorers with 17 points.
Lillard hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push Milwaukee’s lead to 75-55 with 7:52 remaining in the third quarter.
