#TYRESE_HALIBURTON

[tsportsday]

Giannis Antetokounpo put up a franchise record 58 points in Milwaukee’s revenge game after their loss to the Pacers in the in-season tournament. (AP/Morry Gash)Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks got their revenge on the Indiana Pacers after their loss in the NBA’s in-season tournament.Antetoknmpo dropped a career-high 64 points while leading the Bucks past the Pacers 140-126 at Fiserv Forum. That set a franchise record for the Bucks, too, surpassing Michael Redd’s previous record from 2006. The win came after the Pacers beat the Bucks in the in-season tournament semifinals in Las Vegas last week.Things briefly got heated amid the Bucks’ run in the fourth quarter that pushed them to the 14-point win. Bucks forward Bobby Portis was ejected after he tried to defend Antetokounmpo after a hard foul in the paint.Early in the fourth quarter, Antetokounmpo drove to the rim when Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith grabbed him and threw him to the ground in the lane. The play didn’t look intentional, but rather as if it got away from Nesmith after he fell for a shot fake.But before Nesmith and Antetokounmpo could separate, Portis came flying in trying to shove Nesmith himself. That sparked a small altercation that required the two players being separated. Antekounmpo’s younger brother, Thanasis, lost it on the bench, too, and had to be held back.Both Portis and Nesmith were hit with technical fouls in the incident, and Portis was ejected. Portis finished with 19 points after shooting 8-of-13 from the field in 23 minutes.The Bucks held a 111-98 lead when Portis was tossed. They opened the fourth quarter on a 22-8 tear, and eventually caused Bucks coach Adrian Griffin to pull his starters shortly after Antetokounmpo hit the 58-point mark. But after a slight Pacers run, Antetokounmpo returned to seal the win for Milwaukee — which is when he hit a pair of free throws, a layup and then a dunk in the final seconds to get to 64 points on the night.Antetokounmpo was unstoppable for the Bucks. He added 14 rebounds and shot 20-of-28 from the field while putting up his 58 points. He went 24-of-32 from the free throw line, too, which set a new career-high in free throw attempts in a single game.Antetokounmpo is now responsible for two of the top three single game scoring records in Bucks history, both of which came in 2023. Wednesday night was the third 50-point game he's had against the Pacers, too. His 61-point game is the first 60-point game anywhere in the league since Damian Lillard had 71-points last season with the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard was responsible for the last two before he was traded to Milwaukee.Lillard added 21 points and five assists for the Bucks, and Khris Middleton had 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 22 points and seven assists in their loss. Myles Turner had 22 points, too, and added nine rebounds. They were the only two starters for Indiana to score in double figures.Things got heated again after the buzzer sounded, too, and Antetokounmpo was seen yelling at Haliburton and other assistants on the court before he took off sprinting into the tunnel. The Pacers reportedly took the game ball with them into the locker room, which Antetokounmpo wanted to get back. Eventually, he came back out onto the court and gave a normal interview with Bally Sports Wisconsin.While it was a very tense matchup in what has been a great rivalry in the Eastern Conference already this season, Antetokounmpo managed to pull off the historic outing and get the win. The two teams will square off in a pair of matchups on Jan. 1 and Jan. 3, which are sure to be just as competitive.