Middleton goes off, leads Bucks past Pacers
INDIANAPOLIS -- Khris Middleton scored 33 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Indiana Pacers 120-116 on Thursday night.
Greg Monroe added 23 points for Milwaukee, which shot 58 percent (45 for 77) from the field. Jabari Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo and reserve Jerryd Bayless had 14 points apiece.
The Bucks grabbed control with a 20-6 run in the third quarter.
The difference in the game was superb shooting from Milwaukee, and Indiana's 20 turnovers led to 35 points for the Bucks.
Paul George led the Pacers with 31 points. George Hill added 15 points and six rebounds.
Indiana trailed 111-95 after Michael Carter-Williams connected on a jumper for Milwaukee with 4:41 left. But the Pacers scored 19 of the next 25 points to close to 117-114 on George's two foul shots with 1:16 remaining.
Solomon Hill's dunk trimmed the Bucks' lead to two with 7.7 seconds left, but Middleton hit two free throws to help Milwaukee stop a three-game losing streak.
The night didn't start well for the Pacers and the Bucks made the most of their slow start. Milwaukee shot 59 percent in the first half and led by as many as 13 points on its way to a 59-52 lead at the break.
The Pacers opened up the third quarter strong, attacking the basket and driving instead of settling for pull-up jumpers and the result was an 11-2 run that put the Pacers ahead 63-61.
But Milwaukee bounced right back, outscoring Indiana 28-14 to close out the third quarter.
