Even the NBA saw a big upset amid March Madness. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks tasted a stunning 139-123 loss at home Thursday night against the Indiana Pacers, who were missing a number of key players, including All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton.
The Bucks simply could not stop the barrage of 3-pointers from the Pacers, and that was very much noted by Milwaukee head coach Mike Budenholzer.
“It wasn't very good. I thought we lost shooters too much. I think that's probably the thing…I think just too much help on penetration, areas where we're trying to work and get better. And we'll learn from it,” Budenholzer said following the loss to the Pacers, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
The Pacers got hot from behind the arc like an NCAA tournament Cinderella. They drained a total of 22 3-pointers on 46 attempts for an incredible 47.8 percent success rate. Overall, Indiana shot 55.7 percent from the field. The Bucks clearly missed the presence of center Brook Lopez, who sat out the contest due to ankle soreness.
Milwaukee's defense against the 3-point shot in the Pacers game can also be considered an outlier. For one, the Bucks are fourth in the NBA with opponents making only 34.9 percent of their 3-point shots. Nevertheless, there is still a lesson to be learned by the Bucks in that game, at least defensively. Considering that the Pacers were without Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin, the Bucks shouldn't have been torched like that by Indiana.
The Bucks will look to correct their ways when they host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
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