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After a tightly contested first half, the Indiana Pacers exploded in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks, turning a four point halftime lead into a 23-point lead. The Pacers outscored the Bucks 35-16 in the third and did even more damage in the fourth. All totaled, the Pacers blew out the Bucks 68-35 in the second half en route to their fifth straight home win.
The Pacers teed off against the Bucks from three point range, hitting 15 on the night, with seven different players hitting a three, including a 4-4 night from Glenn Robinson III, who had 17 off the bench. Despite the outburst, Robinson wasn't even Indiana's top bench scorer, with Jordan Hill posting a 20 point, 11 rebound night. The bench had 53 on the night.
As a team, the Pacers shot 51.6% on the night, including 50% from three point range. The Pacers had 15 steals forcing 23 Milwaukee turnovers. C.J. Miles led the Pacers in steals with three, scoring a game high 21, finding continued success driving the basket. Indiana as a team totaled 50 points in the paint, tying with Milwaukee. The only area in which Indiana didn't find success was at the line, where a woeful 14-23 night took away from an all around great effort.
Paul George had 20 on the night, with seven rebounds and seven assists, the second time this season the Pacers have won without George leading the team in scoring. The Pacers got a big night from Chase Budinger, who had 13 in a starting role including three three pointers. Lavoy Allen had six off the bench, coming up with eight boards and a bench high five assists.
Allen and Ian Mahinmi led the team in offensive rebounds, pulling in eight of the team's 11 offensive boards. Monta Ellis also had five assists go with 12 points on an efficient 5-9 shooting, and Solomon Hill even got in the fun with a late fourth quarter three pointer.
While early struggles were expected, the Pacers have all but shattered that notion with an 8-2 stretch. Getting a blowout win against Philadelphia was fun, but getting it against a team like Milwaukee was far more rewarding. The Pacers will hit the road against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, looking to keep the good times rolling against another Eastern Conference playoff contender.