Parker carries Bucks past Pacers
MILWAUKEE -- Jabari Parker sank a career-high four 3-pointers and scored a season-high 27 points Thursday night, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 125-107 victory over the Indiana Pacers at the Bradley Center.
Parker hit 11 of 17 shots to pace a Bucks' offense that shot 44.4 percent from the field and hit 12 of 27 attempts from beyond the arc.
Giannis Antetokounmpo matched Parker with 27 of his own by hitting 11 of 18 shots. Greg Monroe finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Tony Snell knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 14 and rookie reserve Malcom Brogdon added 12.
Paul George led the Pacers with 23 points but shot 9 of 20. Reserve CJ Miles added 19 for Indiana, which shot 46.9 percent, made 10 of 23 shots but allowed 34 points off 21 turnovers.
Jeff Teague scored 16 points but went 4 of 11 from the field.
Behind 12 points from Parker, Milwaukee built a 63-57 halftime lead. He added nine more in the third as the Bucks broke the game open, going ahead by as many as 17.
The Bucks' defense held Indiana scoreless to open the fourth quarter but George snapped the drought with a 3-pointer at the 9:24 mark. George's shot kicked off a 9-0 run to make it a 97-88 game with eight minutes to play but Milwaukee recovered with layups from Antetokounmpo and Monroe to put the lead back into double digits.
Indiana got within seven but a Snell 3-pointer and a reverse alley-oop from Antetokounmpo to Miles Plumlee put Milwaukee back up 12 with 3:12 to play and rookie Thon Maker iced it with back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute.
NOTES: Pacers SG Rodney Stuckey remained sidelined with a sore right hamstring. He's appeared in just two games this season, playing a total of 26 minutes after getting hurt last Friday in Brooklyn ... Through the first four games of the season, Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo is the only player in the NBA averaging over 23.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest. ... Indiana began the day ranked fifth in the NBA in assists (26.3 per game). PG Jeff Teague has struggled with his shot so far. He entered Thursday averaging 8.3 points on 22 percent shooing but was tenth in the league with 7.3 assists per game. ... Indiana won the season series, 3-1, a year ago and has won two in a row at Milwaukee. The Pacers are 14-6 against the Bucks dating back to the 2011-12 season.