Bucks vs Pacers game highlights: Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 29 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds as Indiana defeated Milwaukee, 126-124. Benedict Mathurin (26 points, 11 rebounds) and Myles Turner (21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) totaled 47 points as Indiana shot 21-49 from beyond the arc. Giannis Antetotokounmpo led the Bucks with 54 points (19-25), 12 rebounds, and 3 assists

Pacers hold off Bucks despite 54 points from Antetokounmpo

On Thursday, the Indiana Pacers withstood a 54-point outburst from Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo to hand the Bucks a 126-124 NBA defeat. Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 29 points, including a go-ahead three-pointer with 1:29 to play.

That gave the Pacers a 122-121 lead, and they wouldn’t trail again in a game they had led by as many as 18 in the first half before Antetokounmpo brought the Bucks roaring back.

Haliburton added 10 assists, and Canadian forward Bennedict Mathurin scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who had fallen behind by 10 early in the fourth quarter. Haliburton said the late rally was “just figuring it out.”

“We dug down and figured it out defensively,” he said. “And then offensively, that allowed us to play a little more up-tempo, play a little more of our game. We just got timely buckets.” According to Haliburton, Antetokounmpo was the main issue that needed to be resolved.

“Giannis is a lot for us defensively, a lot for anybody defensively,” Haliburton said. Antetokounmpo’s 54 points were one shy of his career-high and the most in a game so far in the young season. With less than two minutes remaining, he committed two turnovers, missing his target on a pass, and Mathurin took the ball away from him.

But with All-Star Damian Lillard sidelined with a sore calf, it was a ferocious performance from the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, who made 19 of 25 shots from the field and 16 of 18 free throw attempts. He also grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out three assists.

“I know he can do this, but when you see it up close, it’s awesome,” said Milwaukee’s first-year coach Adrian Griffin, who was ejected in the third quarter for arguing a non-call on what he thought was a foul on Antetokounmpo.

“I thought Giannis was getting hit quite a bit, and I voiced my opinion,” Griffin said. “Next time, I will do it in a little bit more delicate way.”

Khris Middleton scored 19 points for Milwaukee, missing a game-tying three-pointer with 6.9 seconds remaining before making a three to cap the scoring at the buzzer.

Mexico City matchup

Trae Young’s 41 points were just about enough for the Atlanta Hawks in a 120-119 victory over the Orlando Magic in Mexico City. Orlando led by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter, and Franz Wagner gave the Magic a two-point lead with less than a minute remaining.

But Young found an open Dejounte Murray for a game-winning three-pointer with 31 seconds remaining, and the Magic couldn’t find a way to get back in front. This season’s two regular-season games played outside of the United States were this one, which drew a sell-out crowd of almost 20,000 at Mexico City Arena.

On January 11, the Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers will play in Paris. Commissioner Adam Silver of the NBA told reporters in Mexico that he anticipates the league returning to Mexico City for the 2020–21 season, home of the Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico, a developmental team in the G-League.

Although they are the first team in Latin America to be affiliated with the NBA, Silver remained ambiguous about the long-discussed possibility of establishing an NBA expansion franchise in Mexico. “I do not want to put a specific timeline on it,” Silver stated, adding that David Stern, his predecessor, was the one who initially brought up the idea.

“All I will say is that we do not expand very often, except in Mexico City. “Having said all that, it is still important to plant a flag in every market we can,” added Silver, who said the league sees Mexico “as a gateway essentially to the rest of Latin America.”