"At times we don't": Giannis Antetokounmpo laments Bucks' lack of 'pride' and 'effort' on defense after loss to Pacers' 

Giannis Antetokounmpo called out his team's lack of pride and effort on the defensive end after going down to the Indiana Pacers at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse Arena on Wednesday. The Milwaukee Bucks were beaten 140-132 after they allowed the hosts to prop up 47 points in the third quarter. The explosion all but sealed the game in Indiana's favor. The good news for Antetokounmpo and Co. is that they remain second in the Eastern Conference standings. But the lack of teeth on defense is something they will have to improve on.

Speaking to the media in the aftermath of the loss, the "Greek Freak" lamented on the team's defense:

"At the end of the day, defense is all about pride and effort. If you have no pride, then you don't put in the effort, and you don't get no results. At times I think we have a lot of pride because we know we are extremely good and we play hard. And at times, we don't."

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Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his MVP-level performance with 30 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists. Damian Lillard had a forgettable outing with 13 points, while Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez had 21 points apiece.

For the Pacers, it was Tyrese Haliburton (26 points) and Benedict Mathurin (25 points) who did the bulk of the scoring.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo reaches another landmark during Bucks vs Pacers contest

During the game between the Bucks and the Pacers, Giannis Antetokounmpo made history when he surpassed Jack Sikma for 94th place on the all-time scoring list. With 17,295 points, the 2x All-Star went past Sikma (17,287) and will also pass Michael Finley (17,306). At the rate he's going, the latter will be crossed up in the next game against the San Antonio Spurs.

He went into the contest averaging 30.9 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. His performances put Milwaukee 8-2 in their last 10 games and most recently lost to the Pacers back at home. Now, they went down to the same side again.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has played all of his 11 seasons in the league with the Bucks and has impressive career averages of 23.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. During his time with the side, the Bucks won the 2021 NBA Championship and made the playoffs seven times.

With Lillard in the ranks, the franchise is in a win-now mode. The Bucks did stutter initially, but have now struck the right balance and have been one of the teams to beat this season. Only time will tell if they can make a deeper run in the playoffs and win another title.