The Milwaukee Bucks easily defeated the Indiana Pacers by 15 points in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series on Sunday, paced by 35 points from Damian Lillard, all of which he scored in the first half.
Tuesday night at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Lillard scored 34 points, 26 of which came in the first half, as the Bucks lost 125-108 in Game 2.
The Pacers, who had the greatest offensive unit in the NBA during the regular season, got things going early in the second game, and the Bucks, who were missing Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a lower leg strain, were unable to keep up. This was the main difference between the two teams.
Lillard had a scorching start, scoring 26 points on 7 of 12 shots in the first half before losing steam in the second. After going 6 of 11 from long range in the first half, he finished the game 10 of 21 from the field and 6 of 13 on three-pointers.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 37 points, shooting 55.6% from the field and 44.4% from deep range (16 of 36) in the game.
With 7:03 left in the game, the Bucks were behind 92-88 in the fourth quarter, but they gave up a 20-4 run to the Pacers, who now led 112-92.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Pacers shot 70%.
Indiana will host Game 3 on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
