The Pacers earned a series victory with a balanced offensive performance, as four starters finished with at least 14 points. In just 24 minutes off the bench, backup forward Obi Toppin scored 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead Indiana in scoring.
The Bucks were severely impacted by injuries. Notably, star player Giannis Antetokounmpo missed all of his first-round postseason games because of a calf strain that he sustained on April 9.
After missing two games due to an Achilles injury, All-Star point guard Damian Lillard made his comeback, but his 28 points and four assists were unable to save Milwaukee’s season.
The Bucks’ injury-plagued season let fans down, especially after Antetokounmpo missed two games during the team’s 2023 first-round playoff elimination.
The Bucks haven’t made it past the second round of the playoffs in three seasons following their 2021 championship run. Their recent postseason exits have been mostly attributed to Antetokounmpo’s health, so going forward, it will be important to keep an eye on it.
Regarding the Pacers, they won their first postseason series since 2014. In the conference semifinals, All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and the rest of Indiana’s supporting cast will take on the victor of the first-round matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks.
The Indiana Pacers won 120-98 on Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse thanks to their fast-paced style and enthusiastic home crowd.
The Pacers won the series 4–2 as a result. For the first time since the 2013–14 campaign, they made it past the first round of the playoffs.
The head coach Adrian Griffin was fired by the Bucks in the middle of the season, and Doc Rivers was hired as a result. The team saw many ups and downs.
Milwaukee ultimately failed to recover from the season-ending injury to its two best players, Damian Lillard (who made a comeback in Game 6) and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
BOX SCORE: Bucks 98, Pacers 120
With a game-high 28 points, Lillard scored. The Pacers received outstanding performances from T.J. McConnell (20 points) and Obi Toppin (21 points), in addition to Tyrese Haliburton’s 17 points and 10 assists.
At last, Khris Middleton runs out of gas.Throughout the series, Middleton had been the focal point of the Bucks’ offensive. In three straight games, he scored 25 points or more, with 42 in the third game.
However, Middleton, who also struggled with ankle issues, appeared to tire in Game 6. On 3-for-10 shooting, he managed just seven points in the first half.
After finishing with 14 points on 6 of 15 shots, he left the game with little over five minutes left.
The Pacers’ bench point differential is enormous because of T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin.In terms of depth, the Pacers clearly had the upper hand.
Only one point was scored by the Bucks’ bench players in the first half, and that came on a Danilo Gallinari free throw.
T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin combined for all 19 of the Pacers’ bench points in the first half.
Early in the third quarter, Myles Turner, the starting center for the Pacers, was flagged for his fourth foul. Even though the Bucks would normally embrace the news, Toppin would only get additional playing time.
The Pacers led 44-6 in bench points by the time Rivers began using his deep backups late in the fourth quarter. Forty-one of those points came from McConnell and Toppin together.
Three-point shooting struggles are beyond Damian Lillard’s control.
In the third quarter, Middleton made a three-pointer to bring the Bucks within 71-61.
That was the first triple for a player other than Damian Lillard with the Bucks. The Bucks were 4 for 17 from outside the arc at that point, with Lillard shooting 3 for 9.
The Pacers failed to put out the lights. Only 11 out of 34 (32.3%) had been achieved after three quarters.
However, with 12.9 seconds remaining in the third quarter, T.J. McConnell made a triple that gave the team a 93-79 lead. That completed the Pacers’ 8-0 run to close out the period.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, McConnell scored another, and the home crowd sensed the series victory.
The Bucks shot only 7 for 27 on threes, while the Pacers went 13 for 40.
