Indiana Pacers (31-38, 12th in the Eastern Conference) against Milwaukee Bucks (50-19, first in the Eastern Conference)
Milwaukee; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Giannis Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee in a game against Indiana. He ranks fifth in the league with an average of 30.9 points per game.
The Bucks are 8-4 against Central Division teams. Milwaukee is averaging 14.0 turnovers per game and is 14-4 when turning the ball less than opponents.
The Pacers went 21-20 against Eastern Conference opponents. Indiana ranks eighth in the Eastern Conference with 49.0 points per game in the paint led by Myles Turner with an average of 9.3.
The teams are playing for the third time this season. In the final game on Jan. 28, the Bucks won 141-131 trailed by 41 points from Antetokounmpo, while Turner scored 24 points for the Pacers.
TOP PERFORMERS: Antetokounmpo is averaging 30.9 points, 11.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists for the Bucks. Brook Lopez is averaging 20.7 points over Milwaukee’s last 10 games.
Turner is averaging 18.0 points per game and averaging 7.6 rebounds for the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton is averaging 18.2 points and 1.9 rebounds over Indiana’s last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bucks: 8-2, averaged 122.5 points, 47.0 rebounds, 27.8 assists, 5.8 steals and 5.4 blocks per game while shooting 49.1% from the field . Their opponents are averaging 115.5 points per game.
Pacers: 6-4, averaged 121.9 points, 41.1 rebounds, 27.9 assists, 7.8 steals and 7.0 blocks per game while shooting 49.2 percent from the field. Their opponents average 122.1 points.
INJURIES: Bucks: Grayson Allen: out (foot), Goran Dragic: out (knee), Khris Middleton: out (rest).
Pacers: TJ McConnell: Daily (back), Tyrese Haliburton: Daily (knee), Bennedict Mathurin: Away (ankle), Myles Turner: Daily (back), Kendall Brown: Away (shin) , Chris Duarte: day to day (ankle).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data write and data from sports radar.
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