Paul George says the Pacers are 'not tough enough.'
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers will cap off a busy week when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.
The game will be their fourth in the last six nights. The Pacers (29-24) have dropped two straight games after previously winning seven straight. They fell to Cleveland on Wednesday, and dropped a 112-107 contest to the Wizards in Washington on Friday night.
Despite the consecutive losses, the Pacers are still 14-6 in their last 20 games after starting the year 15-18. They're in the midst of a tough stretch that will also see them playing the Spurs next week, followed by two more games with the Cavs and Wizards.
Against Washington, the Pacers gave up 14 offensive rebounds. "We're not tough enough," forward Paul George told the Indianapolis Star. "This has been an issue for us all season long. We're really struggling."
The Pacers were without Thaddeus Young, who is still recovering from a wrist injury. Young is also expected to miss Saturday's game.
Indiana is just 3-7 this season on the second night of a back-to-back, but they've also won two straight in those circumstances.
The Bucks are also playing for the second time in two nights. They hosted the Lakers on Friday and lost 122-114. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 40 points, but it wasn't enough to lead them to victory.
"Our spirit has been down, for whatever reason," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "Coming into the game, I thought we were in a better place. We have to be better from the beginning of games. We have to fight. It's not going to be easy. We're giving up a lot of points. We have to lose the concept that we're an offensive team."
Team spirit undoubtedly took a hit when the Bucks lost Jabari Parker for the season with a torn ACL. Parker was averaging over 20 points per game.
"We've got to rally with one another," Kidd told NBA.com. "We need the next-guy-up mentality. It's got to be a team effort for us to get out of this funk."
The Bucks defeated the Pacers 125-107 in November in their only meeting so far this season. Antetokounmpo and Parker each had 27 points in that victory.
Khris Middleton will not travel to Indianapolis. He's played in two games since returning from a torn hamstring that he suffered in training camp.
Both teams are in the top eight of the NBA in blocked shots per game and 3-point shooting percentage.
