INDIANAPOLIS — With the game tied at 115 with 14.5 seconds remaining Monday against the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks put together a relatively simple plan: Put the ball in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s hands, and make sure they take the last shot.
After the game, coach Doc Rivers admitted that the Bucks didn’t perfectly execute their play, but that didn’t end up mattering. AJ Green set a screen for Antetokounmpo, which forced Pascal Siakam to switch off of Antetokounmpo and gave the two-time MVP a chance to work against the smaller Aaron Nesmith.
With a smaller player on him, Antetokounmpo made his way to the left elbow, got both feet in the paint and then faded away over his right shoulder to get to a jumper. The final buzzer sounded just before the shot swished through the net to give the Bucks a 117-115 win over the rival Pacers.
GIANNIS HITS THE GAME WINNER AT THE BUZZER! pic.twitter.com/Tz0aoHxFXA
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 4, 2025
“I just wanted to make sure I take the last shot,” Antetokounmpo said. “Like, a possession or two before, I shot a shot and I was short, so the only thing I was thinking about was, ‘Start your dribble at like six seconds. Shoot it at like two or one second, and just shoot it long.’ Which I did, and it went in.”
The buzzer-beater was the second Antetokounmpo has hit in his 13-year NBA career and the fifth game-winning shot he has made in the final five seconds of a game. Antetokounmpo’s clutch shot gave him 33 points, his fifth 30-point effort in six games this season. He also grabbed 13 rebounds, dished five assists and secured two steals.
Following the shot, Antetokounmpo backpedaled out to midcourt before putting his right pointer finger to his mouth to silence the crowd while being mobbed by his teammates. Then, breaking free from the celebration, the nine-time All-NBA forward put both thumbs down and booed at the Indiana crowd to show support for his teammate Myles Turner.
“I think it was important for the whole team to win this game,” Antetokounmpo said. “We understand the circumstances that we are in. It’s a team that we faced in the playoffs. Any team you face in the playoffs, if they’re good or not good, you know you’re going to come here and it’s going to be a hostile environment. The intensity’s going to be high. I think Myles adds to that.”
Turner, who played his first 10 seasons in Indiana, made his first appearance back in Gainbridge Fieldhouse and received a chorus of boos from Pacers fans during the tribute video the team played before Monday’s game.
Ten Years Of Blood, Sweat, Sacrifice, & Constantly Taking The Disdain On The Chin. I Guess Growth Isn’t Always Applauded Sometimes It’s Boo’d But I’m Still Grateful. Still rising. #fearthedeer
— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) November 4, 2025
“Before the game, we can not stress it enough to Myles how important it was for us to win this game for him,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m just going to say this for Myles because maybe he didn’t say it for himself. The average life span of an NBA player, I think, is 4 1/2 years in the NBA. He had 10 years of service in one franchise.
“To be able to come here in Indiana, all-time block leader, to be booed, he might not say it, but it kinda hurt, but we are here to pick him up and tell him how much we love him and respect him. And we understand how much he gave for the team for Indiana and how much he’s willing to give for Milwaukee.”
While Turner’s new teammates had a lot to say in the locker room about the reception the former Pacers center received, getting a win over their biggest rival came first — and included marveling at Antetokounmpo’s ridiculous shot.
“It was surreal. Again, like, real 2K-ish,” said Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. “He’s already a monster, how he finishes around the rim, at the rim. As soon as he gets to the elbow, fade on the double team. It had the perfect arch — nothing but in. It was beautiful to see.”
This photo is absolute art. pic.twitter.com/khOWSwEioY
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 4, 2025
Cole Anthony agreed with Trent’s assessment.
“I told him he was crazy, because he didn’t have to do what he did,” Anthony said. “He spun and he waited for the second defender to come catch up, and then he shot it. So, that joe was mad disrespectful, but that’s incredible. That’s an incredible shot, and he bailed us out.”
While Trent and Anthony expressed their amazement, Green believed it was the work Antetokounmpo puts in daily that prepares the Bucks’ superstar forward to meet the moment and help the Bucks put together their own last-second win in Indiana after suffering heartbreak in Grainbridge Fieldhouse over the last two seasons.
“I mean, that’s what he works on,” Green said. “You see him work on that in the gym. It’s just one of those moments where preparation meets the moment and then you live with the result, make or miss, knowing you practice it. It finally felt good to come out on the winning side of it here this time.”
Ultimately, Antetokounmpo’s heroics served as a perfect capper for Turner’s first trip back to Indiana as a member of the Bucks and just the latest chapter of a drama-filled rivalry that has developed over the last three seasons between these Central Division foes.
“You can live if you miss. You cannot live (with yourself) if you don’t shoot it,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’ve been in that position many times. Sometimes I’ve missed, sometimes I’ve (made it). People don’t remember the times you miss, they remember all the times you make, so I’m happy about that.”
