Pacers 97, Bucks 92
MILWAUKEE -- Solomon Hill scored 22 points as the Indiana Pacers wrapped up the regular season with a 97-92 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night at the Bradley Center.
Hill was one of four Indiana players to score in double figures. Lavoy Allen added 14, Rodney Stuckey scored 12 and Glenn Robison III had 14 off the bench for the Pacers, who shot only 43 percent for the game but made 11 of 24 3-pointer attempts.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 19 and added nine rebounds and five assists while Jabari Parker added 17 with seven boards. Rashad Vaughn made knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 10 for the Bucks, who were 6-for-21 from beyond the arc and shot 41 percent from the game.
The playoff-bound Pacers had little difficulty putting away the Bucks, who are headed to the lottery. Indiana hit 15 of 30 shots in the opening quarter including five 3-pointers to take a 37-20 lead.
Milwaukee shot just 37.8 percent from the floor and made only 3 of 11 3-point attempts in the half to head into the breakdown 16 but a 14-2 run got the Bucks within six and it was a 78-70 game heading into the final quarter.
Robinson opened the fourth with 3-pointers on the Pacers' first two possessions and Indiana went up by as many as 14 before the Bucks' reserves cut the deficit to five against the Pacers' second unit.
After going 41-41 a year ago, Milwaukee finished the season 33-49, ten games behind Detroit for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Indiana, which clinched the No. 7 seed before the game, wrapped up the regular season with a 45-37 mark and will carry a three-game into its first-round playoff series against No. 2 seed Toronto.
NOTES: Indiana SF C.J. Miles sat out for a second consecutive game because of a sore right shoulder but is expected to be back in the rotation when the Pacers open the playoffs. ... Regardless of the outcome Wednesday, the Pacers were locked into the seventh seed in the East. The Bucks, meanwhile, will miss the playoffs for the seventh time in the last 10 seasons. ... Earlier Wednesday, Bucks officials announced a June 18 groundbreaking for a new arena in Downtown Milwaukee. The announcement comes nearly two years to the day that the Bucks were purchased by Wes Edens, Marc Lasry and Jamie Dinan from former Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl. ... The ownership group dismissed media reports that there was friction with head coach Jason Kidd and general manager John Hammond but wouldn't offer specifics when asked about an extension for Kidd, whose contract expires after next season.