No. 1 defense stops No. 1 offense as Pacers beat Bucks

[December 13, 2018]  Thaddeus Young scored 25 points and Myles Turner added 23 points and the Indiana Pacers led wire-to-wire in a 113-97 win over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night in Indianapolis.

Young added 11 rebounds, four assists and five steals as Indiana won its fifth straight game and avenged a 118-101 loss in Milwaukee's first game in their new arena in October.

Victor Oladipo was back in the Pacers lineup after missing the past 11 games with right knee soreness. Oladipo scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds to go along with six assists.

His presence gave the Pacers a spark.

Milwaukee entered the game with the league's No. 1 scoring offense, averaging 118.9 points per game. Indiana was the league's stingiest defense, allowing a league-low 101.4 points per game.

On this night, defense won out. The Pacers held the Bucks to just 41.3 percent from the floor. Milwaukee came into the game averaging 40 3-point attempts per game. On Wednesday, the Bucks made just 11 of 43 from beyond the arc.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a season-low 12 points. Antetokounmpo did record 10 rebounds and seven assists, but shot only 4 of 7 from the field.

Eric Bledsoe led Milwaukee with 26 points. Brook Lopez chipped in with 15 points.

Pacers guard Victor Oladipo (4) congratulates forward Thaddeus Young (21) after making a play against the Milwaukee Bucks during the third quarter at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Pacers started off on fire, connecting on nine of their first 12 shots. Bojan Bogdanovic's 27-foot, 3-pointer put the Pacers up 22-9 in the first.

Bledsoe scored eight of the next 10 Milwaukee points as the Bucks cut the gap to 22-19 as the Pacers went cold and hit just three of their next 12 shots.

Indiana still held a 29-23 lead after one quarter.

The Pacers put the game out of reach early in the second period with a 14-4 run. Doug McDermott's 3-pointer gave Indiana a 43-27 lead.

The Pacers would go up by 21 early in the third and never look back.

--Field Level Media

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