Gary Trent Jr. and Giannis Antetokounmpo each scored 37 points while leading the Bucks to a 117-101 comeback victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Friday, cutting Milwaukee’s deficit in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series to 2-1.
Trent was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Taurean Prince and delivered for coach Doc Rivers, hitting 9 of 12 3-point attempts. The nine tries tied the franchise playoff record set by Ray Allen in the 2001 Eastern Conference finals.
“We wanted somebody aggressive to attack (Tyrese) Haliburton,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said of Trent. “One thing about Gary, there’s players who turn themselves off, Gary’s not going to do that. When Gary gets it going, he’s going to go for it and we love that. He’s a tough kid.”
Antetokounmpo grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out six assists, while teammate AJ Green finished with 12 points on four 3-pointers.
Pascal Siakam put up 28 points on 12-for-19 shooting for Indiana, which led by 12 points in the second quarter. Aaron Nesmith contributed 18 points, while Tyrese Haliburton logged 14 points and 10 assists.
Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday in Milwaukee.
The third quarter belonged to Trent and the Bucks. The sharpshooter shot 5-for-6 from deep while scoring 18 points, leading Milwaukee to dominate the period 39-18 and move on top 86-75.
“We knew we were getting a lot of good open looks,” Green said. “(Gary Trent Jr.) can shoot it with the best of ’em, so he did his job tonight. He knocked them down. We’re going to keep finding him, keep creating those shots, those advantages for him and everyone else the rest of the series.”
Bucks guard Damian Lillard, who shot 1-for-10 through the first three quarters, hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth, and Green followed suit on Milwaukee’s next two possessions.
The Bucks shot 6-for-10 from beyond the arc in the fourth, with Trent connecting on both of his long-range shots.
“They played with a lot of force, lot of determination,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We made some early defensive mistakes in the second half. We were bad on both sides of the ball. They were great, we were bad.”
It was a rock fight early, with both teams struggling to shoot, in particular from beyond the arc. Both clubs made just two shots from deep in the first quarter, and they went into the second tied at 26.
Indiana found some momentum late in the second and took a 57-47 lead into halftime. The Pacers shot 46 percent from the floor before the break, while the Bucks hit just 38 percent, including a 4-for-23 showing (17.4 percent) from deep.
Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 17 points in the half. Nesmith topped Indiana with 15.
