MILWAUKEE – Pascal Siakam scored 37 points and Indiana Pacers overcame another great first-half performance from Damian Lillard to beat Milwaukee Bucks 125-108 on Tuesday night and tied their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at each game.
Indiana ended a 10-game playoff losing streak that began with a Game 7 loss to Cleveland in a first-round series in 2018. The Pacers were swept by Boston in 2019 and by Miami in 2020.
Two nights after scoring all 35 points in the first half in the Bucks' 109-94 Game 1 win, Lillard had 26 points at halftime Tuesday and finished with 34.
It's not enough. Lillard didn't get enough help as the Bucks were once again without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a left calf strain.
Antetokounmpo has not played since he was injured in an April 9 win over the Boston Celtics.
“(He) shot today, was on the floor a lot,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said during the pregame media session. “He's getting closer.”
The series heads to Indianapolis for Game 3 on Friday.
The Pacers led the NBA with 123.3 points per game during the regular season but had the lowest point total and field goal percentage (.396) while shooting 8 of 38 on 3-pointers in Game 1. This time, Indiana looked More like an NBA team. the team won four of five regular-season games against the Bucks while scoring at least 122 points in each game.
Siakam, who won an NBA championship with Toronto in 2019, led the way, going 16-of-23 from the floor. He also had 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Siakam scored 36 points in game 1.
Myles Turner scored 22 points and Andrew Nembhard 20 for the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton had 12 points and 12 assists.
Milwaukee's Brook Lopez scored 22 points and shot 6-of-7 from 3-point range. Khris Middleton scored 15 points. Bobby Portis had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Despite Lillard having another big first half, the Bucks still led 60-55 at the break as Indiana went 10-of-20 on 3-point attempts.
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The Pacers extended their lead to 11 early in the third quarter. The Bucks went on an 8-0 run and cut Indiana's lead to 79-78, but Portis missed a 14-footer that would have given Milwaukee the lead with 3:28 left in the third. Indiana pushed the lead to 92-83 at the end of the half.
Milwaukee rallied early in the fourth when Indiana's Obi Toppin was called for a flagrant foul on Pat Connaughton on a drive to the basket. That helped Milwaukee keep control after Connaughton's free throw completed a three-point play to give Indiana a 92-88 lead.
But after Milwaukee's Jae Crowder missed a 3-pointer, Indiana scored eight straight points in a span of 74 seconds to take a 12-point advantage with 9:17 remaining.
Indiana eventually increased its lead to 23 points.
