The Milwaukee Bucks are all set to host Indiana Pacers at the Fiserv Forum on Saturday, March 15. All eyes will be on the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo, whether he'll play against the Pacers or not.
Will Giannis Antetokounmpo feature against Indiana Pacers?
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been ruled as a probable for the game against the Pacers. The two-time MVP has seen his share of time on the injury report due to a calf strain. He has also not missed even a single game this month but his availability is always a concern for a Bucks fans.
He is given the green signal to start against the Pacers. Pacers clinched the last game against the Bucks (115-114) on Wednesday, March 12. The 30-year-old forward would be raring to have another shot at their rivals.
In his last outing against the Pacers, Antetokounmpo fouled Tyrese Haliburton, who clinched a shot from 22 feet to tie the game with just 3.1 second to go on the clock. Both, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks protested the call to no avail. The point guard succeeded in sinking the bonus free throw to drag his team to an improbable win.
Giannis Antetokounmpo struggled in the last outing against Indiana Pacers
In the last five matches that Antetokounmpo started in before facing the Pacers, he was averaging 30.8 points per game on 59.7% shooting. But, he struggled against the Pacers on Tuesday as the latter kept sending double teams to slow him down.
In return, Antetokounmpo only managed to register 19 points. The Pacers kept a great hold of Antetokounmpo without even conceding a single foul and sent him across the free-throw line thrice. The point guard managed only one attempt from the 4.5 meter line.
He contributed with 17 rebounds and seven assists but Bucks could have used a late scoring boost.
Giannis Antetokounmpo dominant in last two years against the Indiana Pacers
The 19-point outing against the Pacers was just a blot in his recent exploits over the past few years. In the last two years while facing the Pacers, Antetokounmpo has averaged 36.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. The point guard has been making 66.2% of shots while facing the Eastern Conference rivals.
In the list of top-10 highest scoring games for Antetokounmpo, he has achieved it thrice against the Pacers. Not just this, he even went on to notch up a career and franchise high of 64 points against them. But, sadly the Pacers managed to walk away with that game.