Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are leading the All-Star voting in their respective conferences so far.

The Bucks outscored the Pacers 56-29 over the final 19 minutes of the game to win 120-112. After the game, Antetokounmpo was asked why his team kept fighting and he responded with one word: “Doc.” He then went into detail about Coach Rivers’ influence. “Doctor.” Antetokounmpo said. “The doctor. He said the same thing in Brooklyn. You’ve got to fight through this. You’ve got to get through this. You’ve got to keep fighting through this. They will get us back in the game. For example, when a coach says that and starts a fight, you see it go from 19 to 15. And then we go to 11. And then go to 7. And then it… continues to provide dopamine. “And you say, ‘Okay, fight some more. Fight some more.’ And then suddenly you look up and it’s a draw game. And now when I’m there, I’m thinking, ‘We’ve got to win the game.’ We are already here. I think we just need to play a little harder. Just play two or three more minutes of good team basketball and win the game.’ And that’s what we did.” – through new york times / January 1, 2025