1. First Quarter

With the return of Damian Lillard to the starting lineup for the Milwaukee Bucks, their starting lineup featured Taurean Prince, Kyle Kuzma, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, and Lillard. Indiana’s starting lineup remained the same – Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. Much like game one, the Pacers fed off the energy of their fans to start the game. Nesmith scored the first points of the game with a three followed by a field goal from Siakam and a triple from Turner. Indiana was ahead 8-0 after 87 seconds of play. Milwaukee’s first field goal came from Lopez. The Bucks trimmed the Pacers lead down to four points after back-to-back field goals from Giannis. Indiana responded with a 15-6 burst to take a commanding 31-16 advantage after two Haliburton free throws. Neither team went on an extended run in the final 4:43. After twelve minutes, Indiana was leading Milwaukee 40-30. Siakam and Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 8 points in the quarter. Other notable contributors in the quarter were Turner with 7 points and Haliburton with 7 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds. Indiana was scorching hot from deep, shooting 6/10 in the quarter.  

2. Second Quarter

Indiana’s momentum from the first quarter was halted by Milwaukee to start the second quarter. The advantage for the Pacers hovered from seven points to twelve points through the first three minutes. With 8:09 left in the half, Milwaukee called a timeout after a Bennedict Mathurin layup to make it 50-36. The Pacers extended their lead to a first half high fifteen points with 7:30 remaining in the quarter when Haliburton splashed a three-pointer. Indiana did a great job at fending off Milwaukee, but the Bucks eventually broke through. With 1:19 left in the half, Lillard made it a two-possession game with a layup. Indiana closed the half with four quick points to go into the locker room with a 68-60 lead. Haliburton led all players in scoring in the period with 9 points on 4/6 shooting. Milwaukee’s leading scorer in the quarter was Bobby Portis off the bench with 8 points. Milwaukee outscored Indiana by three points from the three-point line and five points from the free throw line in the second quarter. At halftime, Haliburton was the pacing all players in points (16) and assists (7). Milwaukee was led by Antetokounmpo and Portis with 14 points each. Giannis added 9 rebounds and 5 assists in the first half.

3. Third Quarter

The theme so far in this series has been the Pacers ability to blitz the Bucks at the start of each half. In less than a minute, the Indiana advantage was thirteen points after a three from Nesmith and floater from Siakam. With 9:33 left in the quarter, Gainbridge Fieldhouse was going nuts when Nembhard connected on a three to make it 78-62. That turned out to be the largest lead in the game. For the next six minutes, Indiana maintained its double-digit advantage by just matching Milwaukee with baskets and defensive stops. A Giannis layup with 2:53 brought his team within nine points for the first time in the quarter. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, Indiana would come right back and extend the deficit. With four seconds left, Siakam navigated through the traffic in the lane and converted a layup, making it 99-84. The Pacers fell asleep after the basket and let Kevin Porter Jr. drill a three-pointer as the clock struck zero. After three quarters, Indiana was leading Milwaukee 99-87. Siakam and Antetokounmpo each led their team in scoring in the quarter with 10 points each. Kuzma got going, finally, for the Bucks with 8 points. Nembhard came to life for the Pacers with 7 points in the period. Giannis was now the game’s leading scorer after his big third quarter with 24 points whilst grabbing 14 rebounds. Haliburton was still Indiana’s leading scorer with 21 points. He was one of six players in double digits for Indiana.

4. Fourth Quarter

Throughout the course of the regular season, Indiana was one of the better clutch teams and Milwaukee wasn’t. With that in mind and being in control of the lead, Indiana fans were feeling good going into the final quarter. With 7:30 left in the game, Obi Toppin knocked down a deep step back two-pointer to put the Pacers on top 108-93. For the next two minutes, the two teams would exchange basket for basket. With 5:43 remaining in the game, Indiana was in the driver seat, possessing a 115-100 lead. The wheels started falling off for the Pacers the moment onward. Milwaukee scored 13 unanswered points to make it a 115-113 game. That was the closest the Bucks had been since the start of the game. Rick Carlisle elected to not call a timeout and let his players figure it out on the court. The player that the Pacers turned to was Nembhard. He found Siakam open for a three-pointer to end the run and then delivered an early dagger by splashing a three over Giannis as the shot clock was in the final seconds to go ahead 121-113. Kuzma missed a shot coming out of the timeout and then Indiana couldn’t score on the ensuing possession. With 23.5 seconds left, Giannis drove to the basket for a dunk and then Nesmith went to the line a second later to convert two free throws. Lillard missed a long three with 17.6 seconds left and Indiana dribble the clock out to win game two 123-115.

5. Top Performers

Pascal Siakam (24p, 11r, 3a, 3s), Tyrese Haliburton (21p, 12a, 5r), Andrew Nembhard (17p, 6a, 3r), Aaron Nesmith (16p), Myles Turner (15p), and Bennedict Mathurin (14p). For Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo (34p, 18r, 7a), Bobby Portis (28p, 12r), Damian Lillard (14p, 7a, 3r), and Kyle Kuzma (12p). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana is now 2-0 for the 12th time in franchise history
  • Indiana is 11-0 when leading 2-0
• Indiana is now 14-2 in its last 16 home games
• Indiana’s 40 points in the first quarter are the most points in a quarter in franchise history in the playoffs
• Andrew Nembhard is now averaging 15.1 points and 5.5 assists in 19 playoff games
  • 9 consecutive games with 10+ points
• Bobby Portis recorded his 13th career playoff double-double
• Bobby Portis 28 points are the 2nd most in a playoff game in his career (51 games)
• Damian Lillard played 36:58 in his return after missing over a month with a blood clot
• Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his 54th career playoff double-double
• Giannis Antetokounmpo has scored 30+ points in 35 playoff games (81 games)
• Pascal Siakam has scored 20+ points in 9 of his last 11 playoff games with the Pacers
• Pascal Siakam recorded his 17th career playoff double-double
  • 5th with the Indiana Pacers (19 total games)
• Tyrese Haliburton recorded his 6th career playoff double-double

7. Next Up

After two days off, the series shifts to Milwaukee where Indiana will attempt to capture the first road win of the series. The pregame show with Pat Boylan will start at 7:30pm, followed by the play-by-play coverage with Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill at 8pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.