Bucks' supporting cast struggles to help Antetokounmpo in series-opening loss to Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered another trademark playoff performance Saturday.

The rest of his Milwaukee Bucks teammates were reeling. Again.

After revamping the roster at the trade deadline, getting a full season and offseason to learn the nuances of coach Doc Rivers and producing the league's top regular-season 3-point percentage, Game 1 looked like more of the same postseason struggles — and possibly a third straight first-round exit.

Antetokounmpo did the heavy lifting with 36 points and 12 rebounds, but no teammate scored more than 15 points. Kyle Kuzma, one of the key acquisitions in February, became the sixth player since 1974-75 to play at least 20 minutes and record no stats — the first in a decade — according to Sportradar.

Kuzma missed all five of his shots and both of his free throw attempts while recording no rebounds, no assists, no steals and no blocks. He did, however, draw two fouls in the 117-98 loss that put the Bucks in a 1-0 home in the best-of-seven first-round series.

“It’s hard to score when you don’t touch the ball,” Rivers said. "I mean, no offense, Kyle got two shots in the first half, both with two seconds in the shot clock. Kuzma can play, but we’ve got to involve him, and we’ve got to make sure we keep him involved.”

Kuzma's ugly stat line certainly stood out, but he was hardly the only one struggling Saturday. The four starters other than Antetokounmpo combined for 14 points and Taurean Prince, like Kuzma, also was shut out of the scoring column.

How bad was it?

The Bucks went 2 of 16 on 3-pointers in the first half and finished 9 of 37 after making 38.7% from beyond the arc through their first 82 games. And then, after cutting a 28-point deficit to 107-95 with 5:24 left in the game, it happened all over again. Milwaukee managed only one more basket — a meaningless 3-pointer with 25 seconds left.

The result: From the moment Indiana took a 10-8 lead, it never trailed and in the second half, the Bucks never got within single digits.

“We made a big run. We got it to I think 13, 12 or something like that, and it was a game," Kevin Porter Jr. said after scoring 12 points. "But we can’t allow it to get to that point. We’ve got to come out fast, and we didn’t do that today.”

Worse yet, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle didn't even think his team's defense was good enough, especially in the second half.

“Giannis got the to the basket way too much,” Carlisle said. “We're trying to build walls and he's still getting there. He's a great player and great players cause collateral problems, so it's not a surprise. But we've got to look at that and we fouled them a lot.”

Both teams now have two days to make the needed adjustments before Game 2 in Indianapolis on Tuesday night.

The good news for the Bucks is that help could be on the way.

Nine-time All-Star Damian Lillard has spent the last month recovering from deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. He was cleared for basketball activity earlier this week and has ramped up his workouts in an effort to be on the court Tuesday night.

Lillard scored 31.3 points per game and Khris Middleton, who was traded to Washington for Kuzma, averaged 24.3 points in last year's first-round series, which Antetokounmpo missed with an injured calf. Indiana advanced with a 4-2 series win.

Lillard also averaged 18.3 points in this season's four previous matchups.

How much Lillard's return might help remains unclear, but after Saturday's sluggish start, getting him back certainly couldn't hurt.

“I feel like everybody's trying to do the right things, everybody has the right intentions,” Antetokounmpo said. “We've just got to be better having patience and just trusting one another.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Detroit Pistons' Tobias Harris (12) shoots between Milwaukee Bucks' Pete Nance (35) and Kyle Kuzma (18) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Indiana Pacers' Andrew Nembhard, center, heads to the basket past Milwaukee Bucks' Kyle Kuzma (18) and Brook Lopez, right, during the first half of a first-round NBA basketball playoff game, Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) battles with Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner, right, during the second half of a first-round NBA basketball playoff game, Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) heads to the basket as Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner (33) defends during the first half of a first-round NBA basketball playoff game, Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner (33) heads to the basket as Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo defends during the second half of a first-round NBA basketball playoff game, Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dunks during the second half of a first-round NBA basketball playoff game against the Indiana Pacers, Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)