The Indiana Pacers suffered a second defeat in their double-header against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday morning as they fell 120-118 when the two sides squared off at the State Farm Arena.
Just two nights after a losing 124-118, Bennedict Mathurin knocked down 30 points off the bench to help the Pacers cut down a 20-point deficit and make it a close contest, but Trae Young and Caris LeVert combined for 62 points to hand Atlanta back-to-back home wins for the first time this year.
While Indiana have now lost each of their most recent three games on their travels, they are on a run of three consecutive victories on home court — seeing off the Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets — and are 5-1 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse since February 21.
Despite their recent slump, Rick Carlisle‘s men remain well on course to secure post-season action as they hold a 35-27 record from their 62 regular-season matches to sit fifth in the Eastern Conference table, five wins above seventh-placed Hawks outside the automatic playoff places.
While Indiana set out in search of a fourth straight home on Wednesday, they will first look to secure a morale-boosting result on Tuesday morning, when they visit the United Center to face the Chicago Bulls in the last of a three-game road trip.
On the other hand, the Milwaukee Bucks suffered consecutive defeats for the first time since February 4 as they fell 112-110 against the NBA leaders Cleveland Cavaliers at the Fiserv Arena on Monday morning.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 30.9 points per game this season, knocked down 30 on 13-of-24 shooting from the field to lead the Bucks, but while Donovan Mitchell endured a cold shooting night for Cleveland, the Cavs pulled through to secure a 13th consecutive victory.
