Down 19, Bucks Rally Past Pacers 128-127 to Close the…

By the Bucks Nightly Desk · Friday, October 16

The Bucks trailed by 19 and still won 128-127 at Indiana, finishing the preseason 1-2. A returning core closed it out, with Myles Turner's plus-five mark in fifteen minutes the best on the floor.

Bucks Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

This preseason

Milwaukee closed exhibition play at 1-2, after a 90-105 loss at Charlotte on October 11 and a 104-125 loss to Chicago at home on October 14. The trip to Indiana on October 16 closed it out, arriving with Herro, Turner, Jaquez, Rollins and Kuzma all cleared that same day, each shedding a rest tag that followed the loss to the Bulls.

First half

Indiana built a 19-point lead, growing it on a 19-0 run spanning the end of the first quarter into the second. Pascal Siakam drove that stretch and finished with 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Milwaukee called timeouts trying to slow it, at 10-14 and again down 37-52, but still trailed 71-56 at the half.

The turn

The Bucks answered before the break with an 8-0 run and kept chipping into the second half. Four lead changes and three ties later, Milwaukee held the lead when the clock ran out, closing it 128-127 for its only win of the three-game preseason.

The closers

Jaquez, Kuzma, Turner, Rollins and Herro played the final five minutes and were still on the floor at the buzzer. Turner's plus-five in fifteen minutes was the best mark the Bucks had; Jaquez and Ousmane Dieng each finished at plus-one. Kuzma finished minus-16, Kel'el Ware minus-20 in nine minutes, and AJ Green minus-18 off the bench. Starters outscored the bench 36-20.

Grades

Turner earns the top mark: a plus-five swing in fifteen minutes anchored the group that finished the game. Herro was steady — nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from three with three assists — but closed at minus-two in those same fifteen minutes. Kuzma's night swung hardest: three makes from deep built an early cushion before a minus-16 finish erased the credit.

Next The preseason is finished. Milwaukee opens the regular season October 21 at Washington, five days away.

Did the Bucks win their preseason finale against the Pacers?

Yes. Milwaukee trailed by 19 points in the first half and still won 128-127 at Indiana on October 16.

Who closed the game for the Bucks against Indiana?

Jaquez, Kuzma, Turner, Rollins and Herro were the five on the floor for the final five minutes and at the final buzzer.

By the Bucks Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.