1. First Quarter

For the second consecutive game, the Milwaukee Bucks ran out a different starting lineup. Tonight’s starters for Indiana were Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. Milwaukee’s starters were Damian Lillard, Gary Trent Jr. Kyle Kuzma, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brook Lopez. The Pacers scored the first four points of the game on two free throws from Turner and a fadeaway jumper from Siakam. The Bucks countered with four consecutive points to tie the game. With a Trent Jr. three-pointer, Milwaukee took its first lead since the first half of game one to break the tie. The two teams would be within three points for the rest of the period. Milwaukee’s largest advantage was three points on three occasions. The last time came with 2:28 left in the period after an A.J. Green three to make it a 24-21 game. Indiana took a brief lead with less than a minute to go when Mathurin completed a three-point play, but Lillard converted a floater with three seconds left to tie the game at 26 apiece after twelve minutes. Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 13 points in the period. Indiana was led by Mathurin off the bench with 7 points. Both teams struggled from distance, Indiana was 2/13 and Milwaukee was 2/9.

2. Second Quarter

The start of the second quarter was a carryover from the first quarter, but Indiana was in control of the lead. Milwaukee drew within a point on several occasions but wouldn’t possess the lead until two free throws from Trent Jr. made it 39-38. Indiana would then go on a 15-4 run to take the first double digit lead of the game when Siakam converted a pullup jump shot from the free throw line. The largest lead of the half for the Pacers was a dozen when Haliburton drove to the basket with ten seconds left and converted a dunk. However, Giannis would tip in a missed shot by Lillard to end the scoring of the first half. At intermission, Indiana’s advantage was 57-47. Nesmith led all players in scoring in the quarter with 10 points. Milwaukee was paced by Kuzma and Trent Jr. with 5 points each in the quarter. Siakam was also big for Indiana in the quarter with 9 points. At halftime, Giannis was leading all players in scoring and rebounds with 17 points and 8 boards. As for Indiana, it was Nesmith surpassingly leading them in scoring with 15 points in the first twenty-four minutes. Other players in double figures were Siakam and Trent Jr. with 13 points each. Haliburton struggled in the first half, shooting 3/7 from the field and 2/5 from three-point range. He recorded 8 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds in the first half.

3. Third Quarter

In the first two games, Indiana was the better team to start the halves. With a strong close to the first half, it would be important for the Pacers to extend their lead over the Bucks at the start of the half to eliminate the crowd. That would not be the case in tonight’s game. With 8:07 left in the game, Trent Jr. THIRD three-pointer of the quarter tied the game at 62. Indiana would get two points from Turner following the tie, but Milwaukee took the lead when Antetokounmpo made two free throws to break the 64-64 tie. The last time that the Pacers were gridlocked with the Bucks in the entire game was when Nesmith tied the game at 69 with a three with 6:16 left in the quarter. Milwaukee started to slowly pull away because of Giannis and Trent Jr. With 1:26 left in the quarter, Trent Jr. connected on ANOTHER three to complete a 23-point turnaround in the quarter. After three quarters, Milwaukee was leading Indiana 86-75 behind Trent Jr.’s 18 points and Antetokounmpo’s 11 points. The Pacers only scored 18 points in the quarter. Siakam was responsible for seven of them. Indiana was 1/9 behind the arc, and 5/10 inside the arc in the period. Milwaukee also asserted their dominance on the glass in the quarter buy outrebounding Indiana 13-6. Heading to the final quarter, Trent Jr. was the game’s leading scorer with 31 points followed by Giannis with 28 points and Siakam with 20 points. Giannis also had 11 rebounds through three periods.

4. Fourth Quarter

As the two teams prepared for the final quarter, Indiana needed to find some success to get back into the game. Milwaukee had all the momentum, including a loud Fiserv Forum. The Bucks quickly pushed their advantage to 15 points when Green knocked down a three two minutes into the period. Milwaukee would call a timeout ninety seconds later when the Pacers made it 95-85 when Siakam forced a turnover and set Ben Sheppard up for an easy field goal. Doc Rivers inserted Antetokounmpo coming out of the timeout, and that decision put the game away. Indiana went scoreless for over three minutes and could not stop Milwaukee. Giannis completed a three-point play to go ahead 105-85 with 5:19 left in the game. The largest deficit for Indiana was 22-points with 3:15 left in the game, which was after Rick Carlisle pulled his starters and opted for his reserves the rest of the way. Indiana gets outscored 70-44 in the second half and losses game three 117-101.

5. Top Performers

Giannis Antetokounmpo (37p, 12r, 6a), Gary Trent Jr. (37p, 4s, 9 threes), AJ Green (12p, 4r, 4a), and Bobby Portis (10p, 8r, 3a). For Indiana, Pascal Siakam (28p, 5r, 2a, 2s), Aaron Nesmith (18p, 7r, 3a, 2s, 1b), Tyrese Haliburton (14p, 10a, 7r), and Obi Toppin (10p). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana and Milwaukee at home are 8-1 between this series and last season
• Indiana is now 8-2 at home and 2-8 on the road for the last two years in the playoffs
• Indiana lost by 15 and 23 points in Milwaukee last year and followed those losses with a 17-point win and a 22-point win
• Teams with 2-1 series leads win the series 78% of the time
• Damian Lillard is 6/25 (24%) from the field and 3/16 (18.8%) from three-point range in his first two games back
• Gary Trent Jr.’s 37 points are a playoff career high
  • Previous career high was 24 points
  • 4th most points in a game of his career
• Gary Trent Jr.’s 9 threes are a playoff career high
  • Tied the most in a game in his career
• Gary Trent Jr. & Giannis Antetokounmpo became first pair of players to score 35+ points against the Indiana Pacers in franchise history
• Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his 55th career playoff double-double
  • Has recorded a double-double in all three games of the series
• Giannis Antetokounmpo has scored 30+ points in 36 playoff games (82 games)
  • Has scored 30+ points in all three games of the series
• Pascal Siakam has scored 20+ points in 10 of his last 12 playoff games with the Pacers
• Tyrese Haliburton recorded his 7th career playoff double-double
  • Has recorded a double-double in all three games of the series

7. Next Up

• Indiana and Milwaukee at home are 8-1 between this series and last season
• Indiana is now 8-2 at home and 2-8 on the road for the last two years in the playoffs
• Indiana lost by 15 and 23 points in Milwaukee last year and followed those losses with a 17-point win and a 22-point win
• Teams with 2-1 series leads win the series 78% of the time
• Damian Lillard is 6/25 (24%) from the field and 3/16 (18.8%) from three-point range in his first two games back
• Gary Trent Jr.’s 37 points are a playoff career high
  • Previous career high was 24 points
  • 4th most points in a game of his career
• Gary Trent Jr.’s 9 threes are a playoff career high
  • Tied the most in a game in his career
• Gary Trent Jr. & Giannis Antetokounmpo became first pair of players to score 35+ points against the Indiana Pacers in franchise history
• Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his 55th career playoff double-double
  • Has recorded a double-double in all three games of the series
• Giannis Antetokounmpo has scored 30+ points in 36 playoff games (82 games)
  • Has scored 30+ points in all three games of the series
• Pascal Siakam has scored 20+ points in 10 of his last 12 playoff games with the Pacers
• Tyrese Haliburton recorded his 7th career playoff double-double
  • Has recorded a double-double in all three games of the series