Jrue Holiday scores career-high 51 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo has triple-double in Bucks 149-136 win over Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS – The Milwaukee Bucks held back the pesky Indiana Pacers Wednesday night at Gainbridge FieldHouse, winning 149-136 to improve their NBA-best record to 55-21. They are now 11-4 in March.

Indiana dropped to 33-44 and have lost four in a row.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday dominate

The Bucks handled the Detroit Pistons on Monday without their MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo (right knee soreness) and all-star point guard Jrue Holiday (personal reasons), but the duo were back Wednesday and immediately asserted themselves offensively – and they never looked back.

And when it was all said and done, the pair put together perhaps the greatest regular-season game by a duo in team history.

“Yeah, ‘cause early on they both got it going early,” guard Jevon Carter said. “They was really scoring the majority of our points so we wanted to keep it going. That was big time.

“I mean, just spacing – that’s kind of how we play every night. But normally, I think most teams suck in and they make it hard for ‘em to score but they were just playing them one-on-one so they was doing their thing.”

According to Antetokounmpo, a pregame conversation with Holiday put the guard's career night in the universe to manifest. Antetokounmpo said they were talking about 50-point games, and he turned to Holiday and said, "Jrue can have 50. And you put in the air, you put it in the air – and I really believe in this – and the guy came and had 50!"

Holiday played 32 minutes and scored a career-high 51 points on 20-of-30 shooting. He was also 8 for 10 from the free throw line. He dished out eight assists and had eight rebounds.

“Obviously I’m happy about it,” Holiday said quietly. “It took 14 years to get 50 points. Came in a game that we needed to win, so I couldn’t be happier.”

Antetokounmpo also played 32 minutes and scored 38 points on 14-of-18 shooting. He also went 10 for 14 from the free throw line. He handed out 12 assists and pulled down 15 rebounds.

BOX SCORE: Bucks 149, Pacers 136

They accounted for 61.3% of the team’s points when Holiday exited for good at the 3 minute, 38 second mark of the fourth quarter the Bucks up 145-126. At that point, the star duo had 20 of the team’s 27 assists, made 34 of their 56 shots and had 48 of their 90 field goal attempts.

“We scored 150 points – I shot twice or three times," Grayson Allen said. "Like, if somebody is just going to let the guy that’s hot continue to play one-on-one, we’re going to continue to go to the hot hand. If he goes for 50, he goes for 50 right? That’s great offense for us. We get a bucket every time. So, for us on the outside our job is to just keep moving, keep spotting up and if they do change their mind and decide to help and decide to send an extra guy, just be ready for it.”

According to the NBA, Antetokounmpo and Holiday are the third set of teammates to combine for 85 or more points, 25 or more rebounds and 20 or more assists in a game.

It was the fourth 40-point game of Holiday’s career (and second this season), and he reached that with 2:50 left in the third quarter. He then set a career-high seconds later. His previous best was a 41-point effort on April 21, 2018 while with New Orleans.

“Just one, I think I had it going tonight, so the iso’s or anything like that felt comfortable, either trying to get to the paint or get to my fade,” Holiday said. “I feel like my teammates are so good that they kind of have to stay out with them so it kind of gives me a chance to iso actually one-on-one. It’s a little bit easier playing one-on-one rather than one-on-two.”

Holiday did most of his damage in the interior, going 15 for 20 inside the paint for 30 points. He joked he was like Antetokounmpo with such work, and center Brook Lopez added “It just shows how good he is and what he’s capable of doing. It was scary how easy he was making it look. They were typical Jrue baskets and they just kept coming and he was being aggressive. We need him to be aggressive like that for us to go all the way. It was just amazing to see.”

It was the fifth triple-double of the season for Antetokounmpo, and he recorded it in the quickest amount of time in his career with 8:50 left in the third quarter.

“It’s hard to come up with the superlatives to describe them,” Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “They were phenomenal. Giannis, I thought, set the tone with his aggressive attacking. Got to the free throw line a lot early and Jrue, just for the whole game, to have 51, that’s hard to do in an NBA game. Together with Giannis at 38, I think those two guys were special. They put us on their backs. I thought different guys stepped up and made plays, too. It’s a good win here in Indiana. Those guys are tough to guard. You gotta be able to score it going back at ‘em and finish the road trip. Jrue and Giannis, they led us.”

In a 74-point first half for the Bucks, Antetokounmpo and Holiday combined for 47 points. They made 18 of 23 combined shots with the rest of the team going 11 for 25. Antetokounmpo nearly had his triple-double in 18 first half minutes, clocking 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine rebounds.

Holiday’s 27 points in 16 minutes matched his 10th-highest scoring game of the season.

“He was unbelievable today,” Antetokounmpo said. “We needed that from him. They were playing really good. They were playing fast. They scored 130 points and we needed every point from the 50 points he had today. He was unbelievable. He was moving the ball, he was aggressive, he was rebounding the ball, he was guarding, and he was unbelievable.”

Holiday became just the sixth Bucks player to score at least 50 in a regular season game. Michael Redd holds the single-game record with 57, and he reached 50 two times.

“It’s hard to have 50,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s not easy. I’ve played 720 games in my career and I’ve had 50 six times, one time in the playoffs. It’s not easy.”

Others to do so are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10 times), Antetokounmpo (6), Khris Middleton (once) and Brandon Jennings (once).

At the end of his media session, Antetokounmpo wanted to speak one more goal out to the universe on the heels of his Holiday prediction.

“The same way I’m putting it out right now, we are going to win a championship," Antetokounmpo said. "We are going to play as hard as we can. That’s a promise to ourselves. That’s a promise to the team. This is a promise to all the hard workers this year. We’re going to give everything we have to win a championship. I’m putting it out there in the air. It works. Because today for him it worked. He had 50. It’s insane.”

Bucks, Pacers go up-tempo again

Before the game, Budenholzer said his team was going to get stops Wednesday night to slow down the fast-moving Paces – but both teams had other ideas.

In their previous three games against one another the Bucks averaged 132.0 points, including two of their top 10 scoring games of the season. The Pacers averaged 129.7 points, including two of the top 10 highest-scoring games an opponent has had against the Bucks.

The teams went at it offensively right from the opening tip and never slowed.

The Bucks lead 73-69 at the half by shooting 60.4% from the field overall and 42.9% from behind the three-point line. The Pacers made 50.9% of their shots and 47.4% of their threes. Indiana took advantage of extra possessions, scoring 17 points of eight Milwaukee turnovers and another 13 points off six offensive rebounds.

The halftime break didn’t stall either team as Milwaukee led 119-107 after three quarters. The point total set a new season-high for Milwaukee through three quarters. The Bucks improved their shooting to 64.3% and 47.4% from behind the three-point line, but they also kept turning it over (12 times), which upped the Pacers points off those to 21.

“I guess at some point it was just the whole night we needed to keep scoring and I was hoping maybe we had one good quarter in the third quarter,” Budenholzer said. “There were stretches where we got some stops and able to get separation and get up 15 or 17 at one point and we just didn’t finish that quarter well.”

By the time the Bucks pulled their starters, they were up 145-126. They finished two points shy of setting a season-high for points, and the Pacers finished just seven points shy of setting a season-high by an opponent.

“I don’t like being a part of games like this,” Antetokounmpo said. “I don’t like when we trade baskets. It doesn’t feel good for me. It’s insane. My rookie year we were scoring 90 points, 80 points. Now we’re scoring 150 and the other team is scoring 130. I don’t like, personally, that feeling. But they were playing fast. Like every basket we made they were going the other way and that’s how they play, one of the fastest teams in the league and very disciplined team. We knew that we gotta guard a little bit harder and we gotta be able to do the same thing.”

Along with Antetokounmpo and Holiday’s monster games, Lopez had 21 points and Bobby Portis had 12. For Indiana, seven players reached double figures.

Bucks win Central Division

The Bucks won their fifth straight Central Division title as they relaxed in their hotel rooms Tuesday night in Indianapolis, as Atlanta handed Cleveland its 29^th loss off the season – eight more than the Bucks with seven games to play.

Milwaukee won six straight division titles under Don Nelson from 1980-86.

“First, just for our players, for our organization, our team, you want to appreciate things like wining the division,” Budenholzer said. “We talked about it earlier when we clinched a playoff spot – you don’t want to take things for granted. You want to be appreciative. We’ve got an incredible group of players that give us a lot. Kudos to our players.”

While division championships no longer hold the same luster as years past the NBA unveiled new hardware for division winners on April 11, 2022, and the Central champion is given the Wayne Embry Trophy for claiming the top spot.

Embry, a pro basketball Hall of Famer, holds special significance for the Bucks organization, as he was selected by the team in the expansion draft for its inaugural season in 1968.

He moved to the front office after that and played a key role in the team acquiring Oscar Robertson in 1970, which helped the franchise win its first title. Embry then became the first Black general manager in the NBA when he was promoted to that position with the Bucks in 1972.

“I have a ton of respect for Wayne Embry,” Budenholzer said. “I have a small relationship with him; he probably doesn’t realize it. The way he carries himself – you spend 30 seconds around him you’re like wow, this is greatness and leadership and a lot of things. And the fact that he worked with the Bucks and everything he’s meant to the league.

“I will say a shoutout out to (former Atlanta general manager) Rick Sund, who’s had a big influence on my life, with (former San Antonio vice president of basketball operations) Sam Schuler, these guys that came before us and did great things for the Bucks and Wayne Embry was their leader (in Milwaukee) and then they became leaders. Just on a very personal level they touched my life and so, I think it’s really cool we won the Wayne Embry (trophy).”

What is the Bucks' magic number?

4 The "magic number" to clinch the no. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is the combination of Bucks wins and Boston Celtics losses.

“For us, it’s a big game because we got closer to the number one seed and knowing that this game we need, we went for it,” Holiday said.

The Bucks can shave that number in half with a win over the Celtics Thursday, but more than that they would also secure the tiebreaker.

“Hey, it’s important,” Antetokounmpo said. “Obviously playing at home in front of the best fans of the league is always a great feeling. Being able to prepare and do your routine and get ready for a game at home is definitely more comfortable. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to win the game. Nothing is given in this league. You’ve got to go out there and earn it. But like, sleeping in your own bed, being able to interact with your family before the game I think it puts you in a good place mentally to prepare for the game.

"Just having the best record in the leauge and having home court advantage against everybody, that’s also a great feeling. We definitely looking to get that. We are here. We are the number one team in the East, we are the number one team in the NBA, we are looking to keep it that way. Hopefully we can be healthy and once the regular season over we get ready for the playoffs and we get ready to compete for a championship.”

Five numbers

7 Technical fouls by Bucks players in their last three games after Antetokounmpo was called for one in the first quarter and Wesley Matthews and Goran Dragić in the fourth. It was Antetokounmpo’s second in two straight games.

Budenholzer: “Our composure, our maturity can be better. I don’t think we want to be a team that’s racking up T’s and giving teams extra points. I like our edge, I like our fire, but the technicals I think we can be better.”

9-2 Bucks record when Antetokounmpo plays in the first game of back-to-back sets.

10-2 Bucks’ record on the front end of back-to-back sets.

12 Teams in Bucks franchise history have won least 55 games. It is the third time the Bucks have done so since Budenholzer took over in 2018-19.

34 Career regular season triple-doubles for Antetokounmpo, moving him alone into 12th place all-time in NBA history. Fat Lever is no. 11 with 43.

Play of the game is Grayson Allen's poster dunk on Jordan Nwora

With 8:37 to go in the game, Grayson Allen got out into open space and elevated for a monster dunk over former teammate Jordan Nwora. Allen hit the ground hard but popped right back up and shouted toward the Bucks bench, which lost its collective mind on the dunk.

“I didn’t realize like what it really looked like in the moment,” Allen said. “So when I got up and I saw everybody on the bench hyped, basically running out to the floor, I felt like oh, that must have been nice.”

He then completed the three-point play.

“I didn’t feel it when it happened, but I feel it now,” Allen said with a grin. “It was a little frightening when I was falling because I felt like I was falling for a long time. And it kind of took me a second to realize that I made it. And then once I realized that, that’s when I popped up off the ground. All the adrenaline was flowing. I was just too hype at that point.”

Allen was getting hugs and congrats from his teammates 20 seconds later during a timeout.

Lopez: “Oh, I was right behind. I had a great angle. Man. He was so high over the rim. He must have been like, shoulder hit the rim. It was unreal. Absolutely. That was a phenomenal dunk and I’m very privileged to have a fantastic view of that.”

Budenholzer: “That’s a heck of an athletic play. That was a hell of a fall and I think for the league to look at. Got to take care of our players when they’re up in the air like that. But, that was a heck of a dunk.”

Antetokounmpo: “Probably had the dunk of the year. Probably had the dunk of the year. Not only incredible dunk but I think this is the first time I’ve seen Grayson show emotion. So that was pretty exciting. I call him a robot. He’s just like, doesn’t do nothing, hello, goodbye, I’m here, I shoot threes, I make threes, I do my job, I go home and I play video games. That’s Grayson. Today he had an unbelievable dunk. As I said, dunk of the year. I’m just happy to see him showing emotion and enjoying it and know the team was a part of it and it was a special moment.”

Video of the game is Brook Lopez's block leading to a Giannis dunk

Defensive plays were few and far between Wednesday night, but Lopez still protected the rim at a high level and he got back in transition to swat an Andrew Nembhard layup attempt. The ball stayed in play and Grayson Allen quickly corralled it and got it up the court to Antetokounmpo for a basket the other way.

Bucks injury report

• Khris Middleton (right knee injury management), out

• Joe Ingles (left knee injury management), questionable

• Antetokounmpo (right knee soreness), probable

• Goran Dragić (left knee soreness), probable

• Jae Crowder (left calf injury management/rehab), out

• Meyers Leonard (left calf soreness), out

Who do the Bucks play next?

The Bucks head right back to Milwaukee to face the Celtics at 7 p.m. Thursday at Fiserv Forum. It is a crucial game in the Bucks' quest to capture the top seed in the East.

Boston is led by its star duo of Jayson Tatum (30.1 points, 8.9 rebounds) and Jaylen Brown (26.8 points, 6.9 rebounds). Former Bucks point guard Malcolm Brogdon is a sixth man of the year candidate while averaging 14.6 points and 3.7 assists off the bench.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Holiday scores career-high 51, Giannis has triple-double in Bucks 149-136