NBA Game Notes (Jan. 27, 2023)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on January 27, 2023.

Bucks Ride Start Fast

The Milwaukee Bucks took a 29-point lead into halftime and held on to defeat the Indiana Pacers 141-131. The Bucks — who scored 85 first-half points — became the first team in NBA history to score at least 80 points in the first half of consecutive road games. It’s just the sixth time in NBA history a team has held a halftime lead of 25 or more points in consecutive road games:

• Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 10 & 13, 1971)

• Los Angeles Lakers (Oct. 28 & Nov. 7, 1980)

• Los Angeles Lakers (March 8 & 10, 1989)

• Miami Heat (Feb. 14 & 17, 2012)

• Boston Celtics (Feb. 8 & 15, 2022)

• Milwaukee Bucks (Jan. 23 & 27, 2023)

The Bucks are only the second team in NBA history to score at least 140 points with a double-digit margin of victory in back-to-back road games, joining the Baltimore Bullets (Jan. 9 & 13, 1970).

The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 41 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, the first two figures game highs. It’s Antetokounmpo’s eighth 40-point, 10-rebound game this season, the most such games in the NBA.

Antetokounmpo shot 16-29 from the field (55.2%), but struggled mightily from the free throw line, making just seven of his 18 attempts. It’s the fifth time this season he’s attempted at least 10 free throws in a game with a free throw percentage less than 50%. No other player has recorded more than two such games.

Teammate Jrue Holiday just missed a triple-double, compiling 20 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. Over his last 10 games, Holiday is averaging 23.4 PPG, 8.2 APG, and 5.0 RPG with shooting percentages of 50.8% from the field, 38.5% from 3-point range, and 84.4% from the free throw line.

Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench to score 21 points and grab eight rebounds. It’s the 20th time Mathurin has come off the bench to record a 20-point game, breaking a tie with Jeff Ruland (1981-82) for the second-most such games by a rookie since the NBA began tracking starters in 1970-71. Ben Gordon holds the record with 24 such games in 2004-05.

The Pacers’ Buddy Hield scored 22 points, making five of his nine 3-point attempts. Hield has made at least five 3-pointers in 21 games this season, four more such games than any other player (Stephen Curry, 17). He’s made an NBA-leading 196 3-pointers this season — 29 more than the next-closest player (Anfernee Simons, 167) — on 42.7% accuracy.