The Milwaukee Bucks are primed for the postseason.
Jrue Holiday scored a career-high 51 points with eight rebounds and eight assists against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 38 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists as the Bucks won 149-136.
There is no maximum output of an NBA season. That honor belongs to the Sacramento Kings, who tied the Los Angeles Clippers for the second-highest scoring game in NBA history with a 176-175 victory in February. That score required double overtime.
The Bucks did all their damage against the Pacers in regulation. And they did it without All-Star Khris Middleton, who sat out the first game to manage a knee injury that sat out part of the regular season. Instead they got 21 points, eight rebounds and three blocks from Brook Lopez, who continues to thrive in his fifth season in Milwaukee.
The win continues a tough stretch for the Bucs, who have gone 25-4 since Jan. 23 and moved to 55-21 in first place in the East. With Wednesday’s win, they extended their lead over the second-place Boston Celtics to three games with six games remaining on their regular-season slate.
They plan to improve as three-time All-Star Middleton continues to gain momentum after playing 30 games so far in the regular season. The Bucs were fine without him on Wednesday.
Holliday did most of his damage in the lane, scoring 30 of his 51 points. He shot 20-of-30 from the field, including 3-of-6 attempts from 3-point range. He did it all in 32 minutes. Antetokounmpo also needed 32 minutes to post his streak, which included 14 of 18 attempts from the floor.
The Bucks face tough tests against their top Eastern Conference rivals with a Thursday game against the Celtics and a Saturday game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
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