NBA Game Recap - Indiana at Milwaukee
Fri Oct 19, 2018 8:30 PM EDT

CHA
120
ORL
88
F
NY
105
BKN
107
F
ATL
117
MEM
131
F
BOS
101
TOR
113
F
CLE
123
MIN
131
F
SAC
129
NO
149
F
IND
101
MIL
118
F
GS
124
UTA
123
F
OKC
92
LAC
108
F

Milwaukee 118, Indiana 101

Oct 19, 2018, 8:30 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Indiana

25

28

23

25

101

Milwaukee

30

32

31

25

118

Antetokounmpo, Middleton help Bucks beat Pacers 118-101
Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:36 AM

MILWAUKEE (AP) Giannis Antetokounmpo's inside game is setting up the Bucks' new-look, long-range attack.

Antetokounmpo had 26 points and 15 rebounds and Khris Middleton added 25 points to help Milwaukee beat the Indiana Pacers 118-101 on Friday night in the regular-season opener in the new Fiserv Forum.

The Bucks hoisted up a franchise-record 47 3-point attempts.

"To some degree if we're attacking the paint, we're attacking the basket and we're getting great shots there, then we'll take them," first-year Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "If there's going to be rotations, there's going to be helps, there's going to be shifts, and there's opportunities to shoot threes, then we'll take those."

Victor Oladipo led Indiana with 25 points, and Doug McDermott added 14.

The Bucks led 62-53 at the half and extended it to 93-76 entering the third quarter.

Milwaukee, which ranked 25th in the NBA last season with 24.7 3-point attempts per game, continued to fire away under new coach Mike Budenholzer. The Bucks were 17 of 47, with Antetokounmpo going 0 for 7.

"As far as shooting, I want him to shoot. If he's open, I want him to let it fly," Budenholzer said. "I want him to be confident. Again, he can be a lot better. I'm sure tonight he's going to go home and think about all they ways he can be better, and for us, that's exciting."

Antetokounmpo said the Bucks perimeter shooting is part of Budenholzer's philosophy.

"That comes from coach," said Antetokounmpo, who is 0 for 10 beyond the arc in two games. "He wants to shoot the ball. Like, I was 0 for 7 today, but I'm going to keep shooting."

Middleton had five 3-pointers, including a four-point play that put the Bucks up 111-88 with 5:03 remaining.

The Bucks were 14 of 34 beyond the arc in their 113-112 season-opening victory at Charlotte on Wednesday night.

"Anytime you're not stopping the ball and that ball is getting to the paint, it forces your defense to collapse," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "When the defense collapses, it's going to be a kick-out for three. Antetokounmpo is one of the better players in the league at finding the perimeter guys when he gets deep penetration."

The Bucks shook off a slow start en route to a 30-25 lead after one quarter, extending it to 62-53 at the half. Milwaukee took 26 of its 51 first-half shots from 3-point range, making eight.

Antetokounmpo had 22 points and 11 rebounds in the first half.

"He demands a lot of attention, obviously," Oladipo said. "One man can't stop him all by himself. We need to load to him and stop him. Overall, we have just got to do a better job of doing that earlier in the game. You know once he finds his rhythm, he starts finding guys, and guys were hitting shots. It's hard to defend, but we have to control what we can control out there."

TIP INS

Pacers: Bojan Bogdanovic, who had 19 points in the season-opening 111-83 victory over Memphis, was 0 for 7 from the field, with just three points in 27 minutes.

Bucks: Reserve center John Henson was 2 for 3 from 3-point range. Henson entered with one 3-pointer in 13 attempts in his first 392 career games.

FISERV FORUM ROCKS

The Bucks' regular-season home opener was squeezed in amongst a week of concerts at the new Fiserv Forum. Metallica played Tuesday night, followed by the Foo Fighters on Wednesday and Eagles on Thursday. The court comes up again Saturday for a show by Twenty One Pilots. The Bucks also were competing Friday night with the Brewers-Dodgers in Game 6 of the NLCS at Miller Park.

UP NEXT

Indiana: Hosts Brooklyn on Saturday night.

Bucks: Host New York on Monday night.

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Leaders

Indiana PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
V. Oladipo 25 -24 1 5 0 1
D. McDermott 14 7 1 0 1 0
Milwaukee PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
G. Antetokounmpo 26 14 5 15 2 1
K. Middleton 23 24 4 4 1 0

Team Comparison

IND MIL
Points For 101 118
Field Goals 38/87-44% 44/93-47%
Three Pointers 6/18-33% 17/46-37%
Free Throws 19/27-70% 13/21-62%
Offensive Rebounds 9 11
Defensive Rebounds 32 39
Rebounds 53 61
Blocks 3 8
Steals 7 9
Turnovers 17 17
Points Scored Off Turnovers 18 24
Points in the Paint 42 54
Fast Break Points 10 20
Personal Fouls 25 26
Technical Fouls 0 0
Flagrant Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - MIL Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Fri Oct 19 IND 101 @ MIL 118 V. Oladipo 25 G. Antetokounmpo 26

Game Information

Stadium: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 17,341
Game Time: 2:12