MILWAUKEE -- The short-handed Pacers took an 11-point lead into halftime, but they were dragged down by fatigue and the weight of their injuries in a 110-102 loss to the Bucks at the Fiserv Forum on Monday night. They were outscored 60-41 in the second half.
The Pacers fell to 2-2. The Bucks earned their first win of the season and improved to 1-3.
Tyrese Haliburton posted 22 points, nine assists and six rebounds to lead the Pacers and forward Pascal Siakam added 20 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Obi Toppin added 14 points and Aaron Nesmith added 13. Guard Tyler Herro led the Bucks with 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Guard Ryan Rollins added 19 points and forward Kyle Kuzma added 17.
Here are three observations:
Pacers collapse in the second half on offense and on glass
The Pacers had just nine standard-contract players available for Monday's game with guards Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell and Ben Sheppard, forward Johnny Furphy and center Ivica Zubac all ruled out. They had to use lineup combinations that probably hadn't practiced together let alone played together in games in the early going.
Despite that, the Pacers found some offensive rhythm in the second quarter in particular when they scored 32 points on 59.1% shooting, hitting 6 of 11 3-pointers and posting 1.33 points per possession. At halftime, they held a 61-50 lead, making 24 of 49 field goals (49%) including 10 of 26 3-pointers.
But in the second half the Pacers played like a team that had lost its legs, which might figuratively have been the case. They scored just 24 points in the third quarter and 17 in the fourth. They made just 15 of 47 field goals (31.9%) including an abysmal 3 of 22 from 3-point range. They were just 4 of 22 from the floor and 1 of 11 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter
Fatigue also seemed to play a part on the defensive end, as they did fairly well at stopping first shots, but kept giving up multiple opportunities. The Bucks crushed them 35-23 on the glass in the second half with 12 offensive rebounds to the Pacers' 13 defensive rebounds. Milwaukee finished with 17 second-chance points in the half to the Pacers' six and the Pacers couldn't recover from that.
IU's Kel'el Ware shows off against Pacers' Zubac-less frontcourt
The absence of Pacers' center Ivica Zubac opened up opportunities for an IU product to shine.
Kel'el Ware, an All-Big Ten pick at Indiana in 2023-24, posted his second straight double-double for the Bucks with 16 points on 7 of 13 shooting and 14 rebounds.
The 7-footer is in his first year in Milwaukee after being traded from Miami as part of the package that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat.
Jarace Walker stepped up
With so many players out and so much production missing, the Pacers needed some production from players who hadn't provided much recently. They got it from a number of areas, but fourth-year forward Jarace Walker's performance was among the most notable.
Walker scored 11 points combined in the season's first three games on 5 of 15 shooting, including 1 of 6 from 3. He did some work on the glass, but had otherwise been relatively quiet.
On Monday he made an impact on both ends, scoring 10 points, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out two assists and playing generally solid and physical defense with two steals. The Pacers have been asking for years to him to play with the force his 6-7 body is capable of and Monday was one of the performances that suggest he's slowly getting the message.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers blow 11-point halftime lead, lose 110-102 to previously winless Bucks