Pacers tie series with Bucks after 125-108 win in game 2
INDIANAPOLIS – What a difference 48 hours can make.
After getting blown out in game one on Sunday, the Indiana Pacers responded with a rout of their own, beating the Bucks 125-108 on Tuesday night in game two in Milwaukee to even their Eastern Conference first round playoff series at one game apiece.
The win snaps the Pacers’ 10-game playoff losing streak. Their last postseason victory was against the Cavaliers in 2018.
A first half head coach Rick Carlisle called “embarrassing” was the difference in game one. The Pacers trailed by as many as 30 points on Sunday, but they kept the game tight on Tuesday before using back to back three-pointers by Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam to take a five-point lead into halftime.
Siakam built off a playoff career-high 36 points in game one by pouring in 21 points in the first half in game two to help neutralize Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard, who scored 26 points two days after dropping 35 in the first half.
The Pacers started the second half with another scoring spurt. Aaron Nesmith hit a three-pointer to put Indiana up by 11 points 2:15 into the third quarter.
The Bucks rallied within a point on a Lillard lay-up, but a Myles Turner three-point play ignited another run as Indiana would go up by nine after three.
Milwaukee cut the Pacers’ lead to four in the fourth, but an 8-0 streak capped by a Siakam jumper extended the advantage to 12 forcing Bucks’ head coach Doc Rivers to call a timeout.
A Turner three-pointer gave the Pacers a 20-point lead at 112-92 with just over six minutes to play. Both coaches emptied the benches to finish the game.
Siakam led Indiana with 37 points, while Turner chipped in 22 and Nembhard had 20. All-Star Tyrese Haliburton was held under his average again, scoring 12, but he dished out 12 assists.
Lillard paced Milwaukee with 34 points. Brook Lopez scored 22. Two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out again with a calf injury.
The Pacers are the first road team to win a game in this year’s NBA Playoffs. The series now shifts to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for game three on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m.
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